Staff Report
A prestigious UNM almunus has been selected to help lead the way for Arizona State University's law school to become a premier institution in American Indian law education.
Kevin Gover, 47, who graduated cum laude from the UNM School of Law in 1981, will teach courses at the ASU College of Law's Indian Legal Program.
"Kevin Gover is enormously well respected in Washington by leaders of both parties and by tribal leaders throughout the nation," said Michael Crow, ASU president, in a university press release. "He is a gifted lawyer who brings a singular wealth of experience and wisdom to ASU."
Prior to attending UNM, Gover studied public and international affairs at Princeton University, which awarded him with an honorary doctor of law degree last year.
Gover is a member of the Pawnee Tribe of Oklahoma, and began his career working for the American Indian Policy Review Commission, a group chartered by Congress to study and report on issues affecting American Indians.
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After the commission, Gover enrolled at UNM. While taking courses at the School of Law, he won national awards for student writing on American Indian law and served two terms as National President of the American Indian Law Students Association.
After graduating from UNM, he worked as a law clerk for a New Mexico judge and then as a lawyer for a Washington, D.C., law firm.
In 1986, Gover returned to New Mexico to form a small law practice, Gover, Stetson & Williams, P.C., which has become one of the largest American Indian-owned law firms in the country. The firm has represented clients and handled cases addressing many American Indian issues such as water rights, gaming, education and environmental regulation.
He has also been one of the first chairmen of the Committee on Native American Natural Resource Law, a component of the Natural Resources Section of the American Bar Association.
But most recently, Gover was the assistant secretary of Indian Affairs from 1997 through last year.
His induction as a faculty member to the ASU College of Law's Indian Legal Program helps to establish the college as one of the nation's premier law education institutes addressing tribal and American Indian law issues.
The ASU law program, established in 1988, is designed to help train American Indian lawyers and to help promote an understanding of the differences between the legal systems of American Indian nations and those of the states and federal government.
The UNM School of Law is also well-known for its American Indian law education.
In 1966, officials from the school helped establish the American Indian Law Center, at the time, it was the first national American Indian-controlled organization working with tribal courts.
During the 1970s, the law center separated from UNM to become an independent, nonprofit corporation, but it is still located at the UNM School of Law.
Gover could not be reached for comment.
His tenure at ASU will begin in July, 2003.
