Lecture honors retired UH law school dean

Betsy and Reed Hundt

Aviam Soifer

A $100,000 gift from The Hundt Family Foundation will establish a visiting constitutional law lecturer program at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa William S. Richardson School of Law to honor Avi Soifer.

The subject of the lecture will generally be: Should we Americans still revere the law, and if so, how can that reverence be made justifiable and effective?  The talk will connect to Abraham Lincoln's Lyceum Address.

Soifer, a prolific constitutional law scholar, taught while serving as the law school dean from 2003-2020 and continued to teach until he retired last summer. He and Reed E. Hundt, president of The Hundt Family Foundation Inc., were classmates and friends at Yale College and Yale Law School.

Hundt is the co-founder, CEO and former chairman of the Coalition for Green Capital, a nonprofit that directly supports investment in clean power platforms. Previously he founded and led Making Every Vote Count, a nonprofit seeking national election reform, and served on numerous private and non-profit boards of directors. He chaired the Federal Communications Commission from 1993-1999; practiced law with Latham and Watkins; taught at Yale Law School and the Yale School of Management; and published five books.

Soifer described Hundt as “a real rarity, an actual change agent—who is also an unusually witty and effective agent provocateur.” Soifer added, “I initially objected to Reed’s proposed lectureship title, but this was a rare argument that I was willing to let Reed win.”

Hundt shares Soifer’s deep concern about the U.S. Supreme Court’s current influence in core areas of American life.

“We can use this wonderful venue of Hawaiʻi as a platform for redescribing the rule of law,” said Hundt. “If you care at all about the law, it's really important to try to figure out how to get it back on the right course.”

Dean Camille Nelson, who took over leadership of the law school from Soifer in 2020, expressed delight that this generous gift will celebrate Avi Soifer.  

“We are honored that Reed Hundt and The Hundt Family Foundation and other donors are recognizing Avi Soifer’s prescient and impeccable work—his brilliance as a noted constitutional law scholar has served as an inspiration to many,” Nelson said. “These lectures will enrich our students and faculty as well as the public with invaluable opportunities to engage with leading experts, thereby fostering a deeper understanding of the legal principles that greatly impact our society.”

The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa William S. Richardson School of Law was founded in 1974 and has trained generations of Hawaiʻi’s leaders with a first-class law curriculum that embodies Hawaiʻi’s unique culture, values, and laws. As a Hawaiian place of learning, our students are nourished with both the depth of knowledge and experience, to enable them to become the leading nurturers and protectors of their communities in Hawai‘i and across the globe.

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