A celebrated figure in the realm of law, The Honorable Cynthia Ackron Baldwin has accrued more than 30 years of professional experience. Most recently serving as the vice president and general counsel at The Pennsylvania State University from 2010 to 2012, Justice Baldwin was the first African-American woman elected to the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas serving from 1990 until 2006, and the second African-American woman to serve on the Pennsylvania State Supreme Court (2006-2008). Justice Baldwin both practiced and taught law commencing her career as a Reginald Heber Smith Fellow with Neighborhood Legal Services in 1980 and moving on to serve as a deputy attorney general (1981-1983) and later Attorney-in- Charge of the Bureau of Consumer, Office of Attorney General from 1983 until 1986. She was an adjunct professor at Duquesne University from 1984 to 1986, and from 1989 to 2001, and visiting professor in law from 1986 to 1987.
In preparation for her illustrious career, Justice Baldwin received a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts from Penn State in 1966 and 1974, respectively. Thereafter, she earned a Doctor of Jurisprudence from Duquesne University in 1980. In 1994, Justice Baldwin was a Fulbright Scholar-Lecturer at the University of Zimbabwe Law Faculty and has been a guest scholar at the Wolfensohn Center of the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C. She has been the recipient of several honorary degrees from prestigious institutions, including Point Park College (now University), Carlow University, Chatham University, Duquesne University, Susquehanna University, and Widener University.
Admitted to practice law in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania since 1980, Justice Baldwin has also been admitted by the U.S. District Court of the Western District of Pennsylvania, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and the Supreme Court of the United States. To remain abreast of recent developments within the field of law, she maintains affiliations with the Allegheny County Bar Association, Homer S. Brown Lawyers’ Association, the Pennsylvania Bar Association, and the International Association of Women Judges. She is also active in the International Women’s Forum and the Bethlehem Baptist Church, and is a member of the Pennsylvania Society.
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