Every year, the Rutgers Law School–Camden Alumni Association convenes for its annual awards ceremony, designed to honor notable alumni and raise funds for its long-standing Scholarship Fund, which has benefitted as many as 10 students every year since its launch in 1983. This year, the fund and ceremony are both sporting a new name in honor of the late James J. Florio, New Jersey’s 49th governor.

"Renaming the alumni association scholarship to the Gov. James J. Florio Scholarship Fund is a true tribute to what he meant to the law school, our alumni association, and the institution,” says Gigio K. Ninan, founding partner of Shankar Ninan & Co. LLP, who served as chancellor of Rutgers Law School–Camden when the renaming was approved earlier this year. “His name and legacy will fund students into the foreseeable future."

Florio was one of the most esteemed alumni of both the Law School and University, and dedicated his life to public service. Following a tour in the U.S. Navy, he served three terms in the New Jersey General Assembly and eight terms in Congress before becoming governor in 1990. At Rutgers, he served for several decades as Senior Fellow for Public Policy and Administration at the Edward J. Bloustein Graduate School of Public Policy. In 1990, Florio was recognized with the Arthur E. Armitage Sr. Distinguished Alumni Award and, in 1995, he was inducted into the prestigious Rutgers Hall of Distinguished Alumni.

This year, the Gov. James J. Florio Scholarship Benefit and Distinguished Alumni Awards Ceremony will take place Thursday, November 9 at The Merion in Cinnaminson, New Jersey, and will celebrate the achievements of three alumni. Carlos M. Bollar ’97 will receive the Arthur E. Armitage, Sr. Distinguished Alumni Award for his outstanding achievements in the profession; Angela V. Baker ’85 will receive the Honorable Joseph M. Nardi, Jr. Distinguished Alumni Award for outstanding service to her community; and Samantha Gross ’14 will receive the Distinguished Recent Graduate Alumni Award in recognition of her early success and promise for the future.

“The Rutgers Law School–Camden Alumni Association fully supports and endorses the renaming of our scholarship fund in honor of the late Governor James J. Florio,” says Chancellor Brittney A. Cafero ’15, associate at Reed Smith LLP. “Governor Florio’s dedication to public service and his contributions to the Rutgers community will have a lasting impact, and renaming the scholarship fund only furthers his legacy by supporting generations of law students to come.”