Minnesota Supreme Court Justice and Jefferson City Native Natalie E. Hudson to Deliver Lincoln University Honors Convocation Keynote Address

As Lincoln University of Missouri celebrates its 160th year, Lincolnites will gather April 23 to honor the university's top students of 2026. Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Natalie E. Hudson will join in the celebration as the keynote speaker for the Lincoln University Honors Convocation.

Born in Jefferson City, Hudson is the daughter of two Lincoln alumni. Her father, Don Hudson, was the Blue Tigers' quarterback in the early ʼ50s and later returned to campus to serve as head football coach and athletic director. Her mother, Florence Dudley Hudson, earned two education degrees at Lincoln. Chief Justice Hudson attended Arizona State University, where she earned a bachelor's degree in English. She graduated from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1982. Her legal career has spanned work in public and private practice, academia and government service. She joined the Minnesota Court of Appeals in 2002, the first Black woman appointed to a Minnesota appellate court. In 2015, she was appointed to the Minnesota Supreme Court and rose to chief justice in 2023. She is the first person of color to lead Minnesota's state judiciary.

Hudson has dedicated her community service to a multitude of boards and committees working to further diversity and racial fairness in the legal system. She has also served on the alumni board of the University of Minnesota Law School and the Warren E. Burger Inn of Court, an organization that promotes excellence in legal advocacy. She is a former commissioner of the St. Paul Public Housing Agency and former Metropolitan State University Foundation trustee.

Married to retired Baptist minister Willie Hudson, she has served as a youth ministry team leader and Bible study teacher, a "reading buddy" with the Everybody Wins tutorial program at a St. Paul elementary school and participates annually in the Minnesota Court of Appeals Dorothy Day Center cookout.

The LU Honors Convocation annually recognizes the academic achievements of Lincoln's top students. Each school and department honors Lincoln's best and brightest for their work and awards scholarships to encourage and support students as they continue fulfilling their academic mission at Lincoln. The 2026 event will take place at 11 a.m. Thursday, April 23, in Mitchell Auditorium within Richardson Fine Arts Center, 710 E. Dunklin St., on the Lincoln campus in Jefferson City. Family and friends can watch on LU's livestream page.