Former FBI Director To Receive Price Daniel Award For Distinguished Public Service
The Baylor Alumni Association will present the Price Daniel Distinguished Public Service Award to Judge William S. Sessions, a Baylor graduate and former director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, during the 2:30 p.m. commencement ceremony Saturday, May 18, in the Ferrell Center.
The award is presented annually to a person who is closely associated with Baylor in the public mind. The recipient must be serving or have served in public office, with a record that exemplifies the spirit of selfless dedication to public service represented by the life and career of the late Gov. Price Daniel and which reflects the true meaning of the university's motto "Pro Ecclesia, Pro Texana" (For Church, For Texas).
Sessions received his bachelor's degree in political science and economics from Baylor in 1956 and his law degree from Baylor Law School in 1958. Following his graduation from Baylor and several years of practice in the Waco area, Sessions served as Section Chief of the Government Operations Section of the United States Department of Justice. He was U.S. Attorney for the Western Division of Texas, based in San Antonio and El Paso. He served seven years as Chief U.S. District Court Judge for the Western Division.
Sessions served as director of the FBI from 1985 to 1993. In 2000, he joined Holland & Knight LLP and serves as a partner engaged primarily in alternative dispute resolution procedures. He serves as an arbitrator and mediator for the American Arbitration Association; a certified panelist and advisory board member of the National Patent Board; and district panelist, national panelist of distinguished neutrals, and a member of the arbitration appeal panel for the CPR Institute of Dispute Resolution.
He was admitted to the State Bar of Texas in 1959 and later was admitted to practice law in the District of Columbia. He holds membership in the San Antonio Bar Association, the Federal and American Bar Associations, the William S. Sessions American Inn of Court, and the National Association of Former United States Attorneys.