The School of Law regrets to announce the passing of María Eugenia Giménez on Oct. 8, 2025, at the age of 71 in Madrid, Spain, following heart surgery. She joined UGA in 1993 and played a vital role in establishing international programs at the School of Law before retiring in 2015. She will be missed by law school faculty, staff and former students.
Giménez earned her law degree at the University of Mendoza in Argentina. She also held two Master of Laws degrees, one from the Vrije Universiteit Brussels (Belgium) and the other from UGA.
In 1998, in collaboration with the Institute of Continuing Judicial Education of Georgia, Giménez developed the International Judicial Training Program, which eventually trained more than 1,000 participants from the judiciaries of countries around the world. She was given a Diploma of Merit and medal by the Federal Military Justice of the State of São Paulo, Brazil, in recognition of her work with the International Judicial Training Program. Additionally, she was appointed to serve as an international expert member of the governing board of the International Institute for Justice Research and Training, headquartered in New Delhi, India.
The Global Internship Program, which Giménez created in 2001, provided summer opportunities to interested students in more than 70 law firms and organizations in 35 countries around the world. The program continues today under the name Global Externships Overseas (GEO).
In 2003, the Universidad del Salvador in Buenos Aires conferred upon Giménez an honorary professorship. The next year, she was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to teach and research in the area of regional justice reform at the Universidad del Salvador Faculty of Law.
In 2013, she initiated the Transnational Law Program, which brought foreign law students to Athens for short-term immersion in American and international law.
A Mass will be offered in her memory at 5:30 p.m. on November 25, 2025, at the Catholic Center at UGA (1344 S. Lumpkin Street, Athens). All are invited to attend.