May 9, 2025

Schwitzgebel honored for leadership, legal service and scholarship

Professional headshot of a man in a black suit jacket, white shirt, and patterned tie, posed against a solid purple background. He is wearing a lapel pin and looking directly at the camera with a neutral expression.

Gregg F. Schwitzgebel III, Esq., MPA, JD, MA, CCS, AIC, was recently named an honorary lifetime member of Omicron Delta Kappa, the National Leadership Honor Society, during its April 27 initiation and recognition ceremony. He was also recognized with the ECU chapter’s Circle of Impact Award.

The honors are the latest in a series of recognitions for Schwitzgebel during the 2024–2025 academic year. Earlier this year, he was awarded a scholarship to attend the 2024 Appellate Judges Educational Institute (AJEI) Summit — a multi-day national conference held in Boston — through the Judicial Division of the American Bar Association and the National Judicial College.

Widely regarded as the nation’s preeminent provider of appellate judicial education, the AJEI Summit brings together federal and state appellate judges, prominent attorneys, scholars and court professionals for advanced legal programming and bench-bar networking. The Judicial Division is the ABA’s home to judges, lawyers, court administrators and students with a shared interest in the justice system. The National Judicial College, created more than 50 years ago at the recommendation of a U.S. Supreme Court justice, is the only educational institution in the country that trains judges of all types.

A legacy member of the national chapter of Omicron Delta Kappa, Schwitzgebel has long supported leadership development in the legal and academic communities. His career spans more than three decades following a judicial clerkship, during which he advised elected officials and administrators and advocated before all three branches of government.

A thought leader in governmental law and appellate practice, Schwitzgebel has authored numerous amicus curiae briefs in significant statewide cases — including Maready v. City of Winston-Salem, which upheld the constitutionality of economic development incentives.

He previously received the Friend of the Court Award — the highest honor from the Judicial Branch — for a lifetime of extraordinary contributions to the administration of justice. He was later awarded the Order of the Long Leaf Pine during a meeting of the North Carolina Bar Association’s Appellate Rules Committee, where he has served for more than a decade.

In addition to mentoring students and professionals through national moot court tournaments and practitioner programs, Schwitzgebel continues to contribute to appellate education through programs like the AJEI Summit.

He has served multiple terms as president of the North Carolina Supreme Court Historical Society and was vice chair of its 2019 Gala honoring the Bicentennial of the Supreme Court of North Carolina. He is also a member of Friends of Joyner Library.

Schwitzgebel holds a Juris Doctor Order of the Coif from the University of North Carolina School of Law, is a summa cum laude graduate of Emory University where he attained a Master of Arts in political science, and holds a Master of Public Administration from North Carolina State University, where he has been named a Distinguished Alumnus. In the field of management, he has also attained the designation of Certified Chief of Staff (CCS) from The Chief of Staff Association (London; New York). He is also an Associate in Claims (AIC).

He teaches in East Carolina University’s College of Business and serves as an adjunct professor at the Lundy-Fetterman School of Business at Campbell University.