The Macebearer is the highest faculty honor at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and is symbolic of the faculty’s commitment of service to students, to scholarship, and to society.
Doug Blaze
Since joining the faculty in 1993 as director of the Legal Clinic, Doug Blaze has made a profound impact on UT’s College of Law. Over the years, he has held a number of administrative roles, including serving as dean for seven years. He has held the Art Stolnitz Distinguished Professorship since 2002 and the Elvin E. Overton Distinguished Professorship since 2004. Blaze has always been a champion for the disenfranchised and disadvantaged. He has encouraged students to do pro bono work and is responsible for helping students set up UT Pro Bono, the college’s student-directed and staff-supported community service organization. He also established a full-time paid administrative position dedicated to directing public interest initiatives in all of Tennessee’s six law schools. This position is now a fellowship program that has dramatically increased the amount of pro bono work done by students. Blaze is the director of the Institute for Professional Leadership and helped design the College of Law’s Center for Advocacy and Dispute Resolution. He’s a renowned scholar and professor in the areas of civil procedure, criminal law, professional responsibility, and lawyers as leaders.