Presidential Distinguished Forum Featuring Dwayne Betts
Presidential Distinguished Forum Featuring Dwayne Betts
President Darryll J. Pines will be joined by Reginald Dwayne Betts '09, an award-winning author, poet, lawyer, and advocate for criminal justice reform.
Betts discovered a passion for poetry and literature while serving nine years in prison after he was sentenced for his role in a carjacking at age 16. After his release, he earned a bachelor’s degree in English from UMD, which helped to pave his way to become a critically acclaimed writer and graduate of the Yale Law School.
Now a Ph.D. in Law candidate at Yale, Betts spent a year representing clients in the New Haven Public Defender’s Office. Honors for his rich and reflective writing include an NAACP Image Award, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and an NEA Fellowship.
He was also one of 25 people selected for the 2021 MacArthur Fellowship—a prestigious award for exceptionally talented and creative people, also known as a genius grant.