Stillman will hold its annual Spring Convocation on Thursday, January 26, 2012 at 11 a.m. in Birthright Auditorium. The speaker for this event will be Attorney Carolyn House Stewart, International President of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.


Attorney Carolyn House Stewart is the 28th International President of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. She will serve a full term in the Sorority’s second century. Attorney Stewart, who resides in Tampa, Florida, also makes history as the first lawyer to head the organization.

Attorney Stewart’s administration will be driven by the theme: “Global Leadership through Timeless Service” and will be devoted to continuing Alpha Kappa Alpha’s 103‐year‐old legacy of providing “service to all mankind.”

Her 32‐year legal career began after graduating with a Juris Doctor degree from the University of South Carolina Law Center. She was admitted to the Florida Bar in 1978. She practiced before the US District Courts for the Middle and Southern District of Florida and the US Court of Appeals, for the 11th and 5th Circuits.

Attorney Stewart is also licensed to practice before the United States Supreme Court. Attorney Stewart is currently a shareholder in the law firm of Macfarlane Ferguson & McMullen, one of Florida’s oldest law firms. She has been with the firm since 1994. She handles cases in the firm’s civil litigation, casualty and labor law sections. Her broad‐based legal experience includes the defense of personal injury, products liability, premises liability and cases in the area of employment law (Title VII and Sexual Harassment). She also represents governmental entities and individuals in eminent domain matters.

She has worked as an associate litigation counsel to a Fortune 500 Company, as staff counsel to a major insurance company and as a government lawyer. She is a member of the Hillsborough County Bar Association, National Bar Association, American Bar Association, George Edgecomb Bar Association, and the Virgil Hawkins Florida Chapter of the National Bar Association.

Attorney Stewart has completed a five‐year term as a member of the Florida Board of Bar Examiners. She is now an emeritus member.

Attorney Stewart’s ascension to Alpha Kappa Alpha’s chief leadership position caps a 38‐year record of commitment and service to Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority that began when she was initiated at the University of South Florida in 1972.

After working within her chapter in a variety of leadership positions, in 1998 she was appointed the International Program Chairman under the administration of 25th International President Norma Solomon White. Among her many achievements was obtaining $100,000 in grants from the US Department of Transportation and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to promote “Buckle Up” – vehicle passenger safety and seatbelt use in the African-American community.

The Sorority rallied around this cause and was so triumphant in promoting traffic safety awareness that Alpha Kappa Alpha was credited with saving lives.

After successfully leading the International Program Committee, Attorney Stewart was elected International Secretary in 2002. In 2006, she was elected International Vice President, thereby positioning her to become International President.

Her professional achievements have earned her numerous awards including the 2006 Florida Commission on the Status of Women "Achievement Award," The National Bar Association Presidential Award and the Francisco Rodriguez Award from the George Edgecomb Bar Association.

Attorney Stewart has also received honors for her dedication and outstanding service to Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority including the Margaret Davis Bowen Outstanding Alumni Award for the South Atlantic Region that was named after the Sorority's ninth president. In February 2009, as part of a Black History Celebration, she was honored and recognized for her leadership by women members of the military from MacDill Air Force Base.

Attorney Stewart is active in a variety of other organizations whose missions mirror her resolve to better the community. She was a life member of the Greater Tampa Urban League and is a current life member of the National Council of Negro Women and the NAACP. She is also a founding board member of the Tampa Organization of Black Affairs.

In addition to her law degree, Attorney Stewart holds a Bachelor of Arts degree inHistory and Social Science Education from the University of South Florida.

-STILLMAN-