Dreaming Big

“On any given day, my mom and dad might’ve been studying for an exam, attending parent-teacher conferences, or writing a research paper—all while working full-time and getting three meals on the table,” says Horace E. Anderson Jr., JD, the newly-appointed Dean of the Elisabeth Haub School of Law. “It couldn’t have been easy, but they were our example. That might be why my three sisters and I have 11 degrees between us.”

For Anderson, whose parents immigrated to the US from Jamaica more than 50 years ago, the opportunity that education provides is unparalleled and deeply personal.

"I got a great sense of what opportunity really means from my parents."

“I have an appreciation for what it means to pursue the American Dream—why people do it, why it’s so important, why it makes this country so different from others,” he says. It’s this insight that enables him to support and guide the students at Haub Law, many of whom are the first in their families to go to law school.

“I always tell the students ‘I’m your uncle, the lawyer,’” he says. “If you don’t have anyone in your circle who can give you the inside scoop, I’ll be that person for you.”