President Earns Brevard Bar Foundation Award, Lauded for Pre-law Program
President Earns Brevard Bar Foundation Award, Lauded for Pre-law Program
MELBOURNE, FLA.—The Brevard Bar Foundation Board of Directors presented Florida Institute of Technology President Anthony J. Catanese with its first Community Leader Award at its annual dinner Nov. 10. This award recognizes individuals who have made substantial contributions to the well-being of Brevard County or to improving the understanding of the role of lawyers and the role of law in our community.
Over the last 10 years, Catanese has implemented a vision for Florida Tech that accomplishes both objectives. While continuing to grow Florida Tech’s reputation as a top-tier engineering and science university, he has expanded the curriculum, adding programs for the arts, music, humanities and athletics. One of the many new programs Catanese established is a pre-law program, which focuses on ensuring that students wishing to pursue a legal career learn about the “real world” of practicing law.
To help ensure reaching this objective, Catanese established an advisory board of local attorneys to provide advice, assistance and support to the program, assuring that its focus is to provide students with the critical skills they need to succeed in law school and as attorneys upon admission to the Bar.The university also works with the Brevard Bar Foundation to establish a mentoring program that provides opportunities for pre-law students to work with a practicing attorney to better understand the many difficult issues involved in the practice of law.
“Dr. Catanese’s contributions to our community and to legal education in Brevard County have been exemplary,” said Ed Kinberg, board certified construction law attorney and president of the Brevard Bar Foundation. “The Brevard Bar Foundation is honored to present him with its first annual community leader award.”
Florida Tech’s Humanities (Pre-law Option) Bachelor of Arts program takes an interdisciplinary approach to preparing those desiring a graduate degree in law. Its curriculum stresses critical thinking, learning to write well and an understanding of human society.
A new class in the program, to be offered for the first time this spring, is constitutional law.
To learn of the requirements for this degree or for more information, contact Robert Taylor, head of the Department of Humanities and Communication, at (321) 674-7384 or rotaylor@fit.edu.
