Alumni Association Executive Committee 2008–2009
The Honorable Vonciel Jones Hill
Term: 2008 — 2011
The Honorable Vonciel Jones Hill was born in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. She received her B.A. in History and English in 1969 from The University of Texas at Austin. Judge Hill received her Master of Library Science from Atlanta University in 1971 and her Master of Arts in History at Rice University in Houston in 1976. She then attended The University of Texas School of Law and received her J.D. in 1979, and, in 1990, received her Master of Divinity with Honors from the Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University. In May 2003, Paul Quinn College conferred Judge Hill with an honorary Doctorate degree. Judge Hill is also a Certified Mediator in both civil and family law.
In 1979, Judge Hill became Staff Attorney for the Public Utility Commission of Texas, and from 1980 to1986, served as Assistant City Attorney for the City of Dallas. From 1987 until 1991, Judge Hill served as a Municipal Court Judge for the City of Dallas. In 1991, Judge Hill took leave from her judicial duties to serve as a Methodist Minister for the British Methodist Church in England. She returned to the City of Dallas and her position as Municipal Court Judge in 1992. Judge Hill retired from the bench in August, 2004, and served as the District Court Administrator for Dallas County from October, 2004 through February, 2005.
In February, 2005, Judge Hill opened The Law Office of Vonciel Jones Hill, a general civil practice with emphasis on wills/probate, family, and municipal law. In June, 2005, Judge Hill accepted a temporary appointment as the Interim Municipal Judge for the City of The Colony, Texas. In 2007, Judge Hill was elected to the Dallas City Council, where she continues to serve.
Judge Hill is a member of the State Bar of Texas, the College of the State Bar of Texas, the Dallas Bar Association, the J.L. Turner Legal Association, and the Rice University Alumni Association. Judge Hill is a former board member the Texas Municipal Courts Association and a former faculty member of the Texas Municipal Courts Education Center. She has also been a guest lecturer at The Queen’s Theological College in England and the Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.
Judge Hill’s involvement with the community is extensive. She was on the Board of Directors for Cable Access of Dallas, Inc. from 1989-1991, the City of Dallas Interim Judicial Nominating Commission from 1989-1991, the City of Dallas Municipal Task Force in 1989, and the Faculty Research Committee at Southern Methodist University’s Perkins School of Theology in 1990. She has also served on the Museum of African-American Life & Culture’s Board of Visitors and the Advisory Board of Mothers Against Teen Violence. Judge Hill currently serves on the National Council of Negro Women and is a member of the NAACP. Judge Hill is Pastor at the Mt. Zion African Methodist Episcopal Church and is a frequent guest preacher at churches in Texas, the U.S., and worldwide.
Judge Hill resides in Dallas with her husband and child.