Professor Mark E. Wojcik of The John Marshall Law School will receive the 2014 Community Leadership Award from the Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA) at the organization’s 138th Annual Meeting on Friday, June 20, at the Grand Geneva Resort in Lake Geneva, Wis.

The award recognizes individuals for their efforts to foster understanding of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people and their issues of concern.

A former member of the ISBA Board of Governors, Wojcik has been a longtime force in the fight to achieve understanding of and equity for those in the LGBT community through his participation in local, state and national organizations. He founded the first gay rights organization at The John Marshall Law School and the first gay rights committee of the Chicago Bar Association. He served on the ISBA Standing Committee on Sexual Orientation Law, he was a Commissioner of the American Bar Association’s Commission on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, he chaired the Association of American Law Schools Section on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Issues, and he is a Past President of the Lesbian and Gay Bar Association of Chicago. He was also inducted into the City of Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame.

Wojcik has worked on legal reforms that include marriage equality and ending employment discrimination and hate crimes based on sexual orientation or gender identity. He has published numerous scholarly articles and books, including an early article on same-sex marriage and the first casebook on the rights of persons affected by HIV. He has spoken out often on legal issues affecting the LGBT community and has taught a seminar class at The John Marshall Law School on sexual orientation and gender identity.

In suggesting Wojcik for the award, representatives of three ISBA committees wrote that “it is difficult to imagine a more deserving recipient.”