Cynthia A. Baldwin
The New Pittsburgh Courier has learned that the Honorable Cynthia A. Baldwin, retired justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and Distinguished Daughter of Pennsylvania, was elected and became the chair of the Fulbright Association Board of Directors on Jan. 1.
A veteran jurist and Fulbright Scholar who taught constitutional law, legal philosophy and trial advocacy on the law faculty of the University of Zimbabwe, she is serving on the Fulbright Board for the second time.
During her tenure as chair, the Fulbright Prize, which has been awarded to Nelson Mandela, Colin Powell, Doctors Without Borders and Angela Merkel, among others, will be awarded in 2022 to Bono, lead singer of U2, for his work in AIDS advocacy, global healthcare and poverty.
Baldwin had served as vice chair of the Fulbright Association in Washington, D.C., in 2020. She served as secretary of the Fulbright Association Board from 2017 to 2019.
Established on Feb. 27, 1977, the Fulbright Association is the official U.S. alumni organization of the Fulbright Program, representing 140,000 U.S. alumni, 70 years of Fulbrighters since the program’s inception, and friends of international education.
The Fulbright Association, located in D.C., has 8,000 Fulbright members throughout 54 local chapters in the U.S. The Fulbright Association has a wide variety of programming including Advocacy and Fulbright in the Classroom. The Fulbright Program is considered the largest and most prestigious educational exchange program in the world. The mission of the Association is to continue and extend the Fulbright tradition of education, advocacy and service.
Through the 54 local chapters, the Fulbright Association hosts more than 230 regional and national programs each year for visiting Fulbrighters and alumni throughout the U.S. The mission of the Fulbright Association is to advocate for the Fulbright Program and promote international education. The vision is a world where international exchange is widely recognized as a force for peace. Fulbright alumni have occupied key roles in government, academia, and industry. Of the alumni, 86 have received the Pulitzer Prize,75 have been MacArthur Fellows, 60 have received a Nobel Prize, 37 have served as head of state or government, 10 have been elected to U.S. Congress, and one has served as secretary general of the United Nations.
Baldwin was the first African American woman elected to the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas and only the third African American and the second African American woman to serve on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. She retired from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in 2008. After her retirement from the Court, she became a partner with Duane Morris and also served as the first General Counsel for Penn State University.
She has chaired the boards of the Association of Governing Boards of Colleges and Universities (AGB) and Penn State University as well as serving on the board of Duquesne University. A Distinguished Daughter of Pennsylvania, she retired from the corporate board of Koppers, Inc. Among her many awards are the ATHENA Award, the Heinz History Center History Maker Award and the HistoryMakers Award.
Baldwin has also been featured in the following Marquis publications: Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in American Law, Who’s Who in American Politics, Who’s Who in the East, Who’s Who of American Women, and Who’s Who in Emerging Leaders in America. She’s currently featured on Marquis Who’s Who Lifetime Achievers website. She is also the recipient of several honorary doctorates from prestigious universities.
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