Richard Hite Honored As Washburn University Alumni Fellow
Washburn University School of Law alumnus Richard Hite, Wichita, Kansas, was honored as a Washburn University Alumni Fellow on October 10, 2008. Sponsored by the Washburn University deans and the Alumni Association, the Alumni Fellows program recognizes alumni who have distinguished themselves in their career fields.
Richard Hite, who received his juris doctor degree from Washburn Law in 1953, is a partner in the law firm of Hite, Fanning & Honeyman LLP. He specializes in business, commercial and oil and gas litigation and serves as counsel in arbitration and mediation and as an arbitrator and mediator.
Hite is chairman of the Kansas Supreme Court Nominating Commission and a past president of the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws. He also served as president of the Kansas Association of Defense Counsel and was chairman of the bench and bar committee of the Wichita Bar Association; chairman of the litigation section and chairman of the legislative committee of the Kansas Bar Association; chairman of the House of Delegates select committee; and a State delegate of the American Bar Association. Since 1977, he has been a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, where he served as State chairman and as chairman of the Committee on Special Problems in the Administration of Justice. He also served as chairman of the boards of directors for Via Christi Health System, Via Christi Regional Medical Center and St. Francis Regional Medical Center.
His many honors include the Distinguished Alumni Award (2007) and Distinguished Service Award (1994) from the Washburn University School of Law; William Kahrs Lifetime Achievement Award from the Kansas Association of Defense Counsel (2004); Lifetime Achievement Award from the Wichita Bar Association (2004); Phil Lewis Medal of Distinction from the Kansas Bar Association (1995); Howard Kline Distinguished Service Award from the Wichita Bar Association (1993); and Outstanding Service Awards from the Kansas Bar Association (1973, 1988).
He served as president the Washburn Law School Association board of governors, was active in the School of Law Campaign 2000 and is an emeriti trustee of the Washburn Endowment Association. As a student, he joined Phi Alpha Delta legal fraternity.
Other 2008 Washburn University Alumni Fellow honorees are Barbara Davison (School of Business); Karla Hedquist (College of Arts and Sciences); Pamela Johnson-Betts (School of Applied Studies); Carol Lynch-Perry (School of Nursing); John McConnell (College of Arts and Sciences); and Kirk Romary (College of Arts and Sciences).
Posted October 17, 2008
