Attorney Joseph Blount Cheshire, V

Thursday, January 21, 2021 will mark the Saint Augustine’s University community’s 154th annual Founder’s Day Convocation with Attorney Joseph Blount Cheshire, V as the guest speaker. The event, which will air virtually on the university’s Facebook and YouTube pages, will also include a presentation of an endowment from the Cheshire family.

“I am someone whose family has been here for as long as the school. We are proud Falcons,” said Cheshire. “With this gift I know that this institution and its graduates will make a difference in the lives of those it was designed to uplift. This will fulfill my family’s purpose when it helped found this school.”

Mr. Cheshire, an attorney with Cheshire Parker Schneider, PLLC, studied at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he earned an AB in History. Following graduation from undergraduate school, he attended law school at Wake Forest University and earned his J.D degree in 1973. Mr.Cheshire is a fellow in the American Board of Criminal Lawyers as well as the American College of Trial Lawyers, where he has been listed in Best Lawyers in America since its inception. Among many awards, he has also received the Order of the Long Leaf Pine and the Old North State Award, North Carolina’s two highest civilian honors, as well as the North Carolina Bar’s Highest Award for criminal practitioners and the Thurgood Marshall award by the North Carolina Advocates for Justice. He is also a descendant of The Reverend Joseph Blount Cheshire, one of the 11 North Carolina Episcopal Priests who founded Saint Augustine’s University and currently serves as a member of the university’s Board of Trustees.

The Reverend Joseph Blount Cheshire

“We are eternally grateful for our relationship with the Cheshire family,” said Dr. Maria A. Lumpkin, Interim President. “This endowment will make a lasting impact to fulfill Saint Augustine’s University’s enduring mission to prepare students for leadership in a complex, diverse, and rapidly changing world. In this age of political uncertainty, social and racial unrest, gifts such as these reflect our Founders’ legacy of educational access by building bridges of advocacy. Our pathway to the future is connected to Mr. Cheshire’s love for Saint Augustine’s University and his commitment to ensuring its upward trajectory.”

The endowment of $25,000 will aid the University’s efforts to assist students who are in need of funds for scholarships to complete the last leg of their education journey. The funds will be provided for junior and senior students.