‘Divorce Court’ judge to speak at UAPB’s annual Lyceum event
PINE BLUFF — Judge Lynn Toler will be the keynote speaker for the annual Lyceum event at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.
Toler is currently the host of the nationally syndicated and Emmy Nominated television show, “Divorce Court.” She is a graduate of Harvard University and The University of Pennsylvania Law School. At 33, she was elected judge of The Cleveland Heights Municipal Court and served there for eight years.
While on the bench, Toler volunteered actively in her community creating her own programs, such as Woman Talk, a project designed to intensively mentor young at-risk girls; and The CHIP Program — an intensive probationary program for young, male, chronic offenders. She also led an initiative to establish early response mental health teams for local municipal courts.
Toler has also served on a number of philanthropic boards, including, but not limited to: The National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI), board of trustees Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, Cuyahoga County Criminal Justice Services supervisory board, board of trustees, Goodwill Starting Over Program, Cleveland Treatment Center and The Cleveland Domestic Violence Center.
Toler is still actively engaged in both local and now national initiatives to prevent domestic violence through her work as a board member on Bloom365.org.
Toler began her television career in 2001 when she became the host of the nationally syndicated television show, “Power of Attorney.”
During that time, she also served as a retired judge sitting by assignment in multiple jurisdictions throughout Ohio. In addition, she became an adjunct professor at Ursuline College where she developed and taught courses on Civil Rights Law and Women in the Law.
Toler became the host of Divorce Court since 2006.
In 2007, she expanded her television presence by becoming the host of the prime-time television show, Decision House.
In 2008 and 2009, she was a bi-monthly contributor on News and Notes, a weekly news show on National Public Radio (NPR).
In 2009, she became a co-executive producer of “Wedlock or Deadlock,” a new syndicated series based on a segment of Divorce Court. Currently, in addition to continuing to host “Divorce Court,” which is now in its 19th season, Toler is also a regular on “Marriage BootCamp.”
She is also the author of several books. Her first book, “My Mother’s Rules, a Practical Guide to Becoming an Emotional Genius” was published in 2007 and was described by Ebony Magazine as an “awe-inspiring memoir.”
In 2009, Toler published her second book, “Put It In Writing,” coauthored with Deborah Hutchison. Her third book, “Making Marriage Work, New Rules for an Old Institution” was published in September, 2012.
Judge Toler has been the recipient of numerous awards.
However, she is most proud of The 2002 Humanitarian of the Year Award given to her by The Cleveland Domestic Violence Center and In 2009 Voice of Freedom Award she received from the Philadelphia Chapter of the Martin Luther King Commission where she was honored to join the ranks of previous recipients, Vice-President Al Gore and Colin Powell.
The free, public event will be held will be held at 10:30 a.m. on April 13 in the John McLinn Ross theater of the Hathaway-Howard Fine Arts Building.
For more information about the event, call the Office of Student Involvement and Leadership at 870-5757061.