The remembrance ceremony is open to all members of the Vermont Law School community and will be followed by a reception.
"For many of our faculty, staff, students and alumni, Cheryl Hanna's absence may have been especially difficult these last couple of weeks during orientation and the start of school," said President and Dean Marc Mihaly. "We'd like to take some time to remember her, to honor the work that she's done, and to celebrate the life that she lived."
A graduate of Harvard Law School, Professor Hanna was an expert in constitutional law, the United States Supreme Court, and women and the law. Her scholarship has been published in leading journals, including the Harvard Law Review, Yale Law Journal, and Michigan Journal of Gender and the Law. Professor Hanna was also a frequent media commentator, including on Vermont Public Radio and WCAX-TV 3.
She consulted on constitutional cases and represented public interest organizations through the filing of amicus briefs in cases before state and federal courts. This included the amicus brief she and Vermont Law School students wrote on behalf of the Vermont Commission on Women in Dreves v. Hudson, the first case implicating Vermont's Equal Pay Act. The book she co-authored, Domestic Violence and the Law: Theory and Practice, was the leading casebook on violence against women.
A funeral service for Professor Hanna was held Aug. 1 in the Ira Allen Chapel at the University of Vermont. She is survived by her husband and two children.
The VLS administration asks that all who knew Professor Hanna honor her by following her example of community service and commitment to mentoring and encouraging young people.