Godfrey Dillard Sr.

GODFREY JOSEPH DILLARD SR.

Member, Board of Governors.

Mr. Godfrey Dillard is a private practice attorney with notable expertise in civil-rights cases. After earning his graduate degrees, he went to work for the U.S. State Department, serving as deputy general consul in Zaire in the late 1970s to early 1980s. When he returned to Detroit, Godfrey joined one of the city’s top small firms, Evans & Luptak, and deployed his skills in school discrimination cases. Godfrey Dillard played a significant role in the pivotal 2003 U.S. Supreme Court decision that upheld the University of Michigan’s race-based admissions policy. As a young college basketball player at Vanderbilt University, he de-segregated the racially segregated Southeastern Athletic Conference.

HONORS: 2019 State of Tennessee Historical Commission, for historical civil rights activities; 2018 Southeastern Athletic Conference Legend; 2017 Profiled in Triumph, documentary film, by Vanderbilt University; 2017 Michael L. Slive Distinguished Service Award, Southeastern Athletic Conference; 2016 Keynote Speaker, 10^th Annual Reverend James M. Lawson Lecture, Vanderbilt University; 2014 Michigan Democratic Party Candidate for Michigan Secretary of State; 2014 Profiled in Strong Inside, by Andrew Maraniss, Vanderbilt Press; 2001 Champion of Justice Award, State Bar of Michigan; 2001 Leonard F. Sain Esteemed Alumni Award, University of Michigan; 1999 Lawyer of the Year, Michigan Lawyers Weekly; and 1985 Keys to the Cities of Detroit and Windsor Ontario, Canada, for work promoting international trade.