People: Andree Roaf

SUPREME COURT MOTHER

Last Christmas Day was a milestone for Andree (Layton) Roaf, '62, then partner of a Little Rock (AK) law firm. Arkansas Governor Jim Guy Tucker called to wish her Merry Christmas--and to inform her he just named her to the state Supreme Court.

'It was a very, very exciting day,' recalls Roaf, who entered law school at age 34 in 1975 after a stint as research biologist for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. But, when talking to her, one senses that career achievement, however supreme, pales by comparison to family success. 'The most important thing in my life is what kind of mother I've been,' she says. 'That's something I picked up from my mother. If you make the commitment to have children, you focus on your role as mother and make it your top priority.'

Andree and her husband Cliff, a dentist who once played football for Duffy Daugherty, met at MSU, married, and now boast four children: Phoebe--a Presidential Scholar, cum laude graduate of Harvard, M.A. from Princeton; Mary--honor student, graduate of Georgetown, a winner of two state oratory contests; Andrew--college student in Arkansas; and Willie--a 6-5, 305-pound All-Pro offensive tackle with the New Orleans Saints, recently profiled in Sports Illustrated. 'Best young tackle I've seen . . . in my 31 years,' says Chuck Knox of the Los Angeles Rams. Andree, an intellectual who never cared for football, admits that as a result of Willie's success, 'I've learned a lot about football. I've had to.'

Among other things, she studied things like contracts because 'all the agents practically run you out of your house once they smell blood.'

With her range of knowledge and experience, Andree will clearly bring healthy new perspectives to the Arkansas Supreme Court--including those of an African- American woman, and even more importantly, of a working mother who really knows how to juggle the demands of a career and family.