Sweet Briar president to receive honor

Phillip C. Stone, the president of Sweet Briar College, will receive the 2016 American Inns of Court Professionalism Award for the Fourth Circuit.

The award will be presented on May 24 at the Fourth Circuit Judicial Conference at the Greenbrier Resort in Sulphur Springs, W.Va., by Chief Judge William B. Traxler Jr.

The awards are presented each year to  in participating federal circuits to a lawyer or judge whose life and practice “display sterling character and unquestioned integrity, coupled with ongoing dedication to the highest standards of the legal profession and the rule of law.”

Stone began his tenure at Sweet Briar in July 2015 following settlement of litigation over the previous board’s decision to close the school.

Before accepting the post, he was a principal at Stone Law Group in Harrisonburg.

A graduate of Bridgewater College, Stone served as its president from 1994 to 2010. During his tenure at Bridgewater, enrollment increased 78 percent. He also oversaw a successful $40 million capital campaign. Stone received the President’s Medal from Bridgewater last year.

Stone was a member of the executive committee of the National Collegiate Athletic Association and chaired the southern regional accrediting association.

Stone is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, the International Society of Barristers, the Virginia Law Foundation and the American Bar Foundation.