In establishing the James and Shelda Baylor Scholarship Fund, Georgia Bullitt, ’87, honors her family and celebrates their legacy with Michigan Law. “Michigan makes such a difference in so many lives,” says Bullitt. “Just look at what it did for my family.”
Her great-grandfather, Fahy “Bill” Baylor, 1910, grew up on a farm in Iowa. The grandson of pioneers who arrived in a covered wagon, Bill wanted more than the life of a farmer. He applied to Michigan Law and received a full scholarship. “He loved practicing law,” says Bullitt. “Michigan gave him that and a livelihood that supported his family during the Depression.”
Her uncle, Robert “James” Baylor, ‘51, followed in his grandfather’s footsteps to also find love of another kind. He met the woman of his dreams, Shelda Ryburn, BFA ’50, during a game of touch football. “They are two of the most interesting, fun-loving, and giving people I know,” Bullitt says. “Their strong senses of humor, pragmatism, and wisdom reflect the Michigan community.”
Now Bullitt’s son, 3L Richard “Stockton” Bullitt, is nearing graduation. “The minute he told me he wanted to go to law school, I tried to hold back from saying he had to go to Michigan,” she says. “It has been great having him at the Law School and hearing how vibrant it is.”
Like the generations before and since, Bullitt found her passion for law at Michigan. “It gave me a great career that I love,” she says. “And breadth of experience and perspective that enabled me to do a large range of things.” Bullitt currently is a partner in the asset management group of Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP in New York.
Bullitt hopes that the scholarship she created to celebrate her aunt and uncle will support students like her great-grandfather. “I want them to see the world in ways they wouldn’t otherwise have been able to.” —JP
