
Law school's first full-time African American professor cements his legacy
October 07, 2025, Megan Sexton
James E. Bowers was an undergraduate student at USC in the early days of desegregation and the first full-time African American law school professor. He will cement his legacy with an endowed professorship in his name at the Joseph F. Rice School of Law, the first named for a Black law school professor, and an endowed lectureship series that will share knowledge about democracy and the rule of law.