IU Awards Taliaferro 2007 DASA
Viola Taliaferro, JD'77, is one of five Indiana University alumni recently
named as recipients of IU's 2007 Distinguished Alumni Service Award. The award is the university's highest
honor, reserved solely for alumni. It recognizes outstanding career achievements and
significant contributions benefiting the recipient's community, state and nation, or IU.
A passionate advocate and a wise and resolute judge, Taliaferro has devoted her life to strengthening families and protecting children. After earning a degree at Virginia State College, she began her career as a social worker and teacher, furthering her education at Morgan State College and Johns Hopkins University.
After earning her law degree, she established a private law practice. In her role first as magistrate and then as judge of the Monroe County Circuit Court, Taliaferro established a national reputation as an advocate for children. She served as a juvenile justice consultant to former Attorney General Janet Reno and as a member of the National Research Council on Juvenile Crime.
Her commitment to the most vulnerable participants in the legal system has earned her the respect and recognition of her peers. An Academy of Law Alumni Fellow, she has been elected to the American Law Institute, was named Judge of the Year by the National Court Appointed Special Advocate Association, and recognized locally as Woman of the Year by the Bloomington Commission on the Status of Women and the Monroe County Commissioners. The Indiana State Bar Association presents the Viola J. Taliaferro Award annually to an individual or group for extraordinary efforts on behalf of children.
Award Details
The Bloomington resident is joined by fellow 2007 DASA recipients Kathryn Ryan Booth, of Harrison, N.Y.; Jesse H. Cox, of Carmel, Ind.; Francois Delachaux, of Hunawihr, France; and Richard L. Johnson Sr., of Columbus, Ind.
Honorees will receive the award in Bloomington during IU's annual Cream and Crimson Alumni Weekend, June 15–17. An award recognition dinner takes place at 6:30 p.m., Saturday, June 16, in Alumni Hall of the Indiana Memorial Union, 900 E. Seventh St.