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I start my fifth year in the “corner office” of the University
of Houston Law Center with great pride in what we as a team have
accomplished in those years, and also with tremendous excitement
about what the future holds for the school. Our standing among the
nation’s law schools is solid, our programs and academic institutes
are recognized at home and abroad, new hires have enhanced an
already excellent faculty, alumni support and engagement is strong,
and the quality of our diverse student body has never been higher.
And, the Law Center is on the way toward fulfilling a long-overdue
dream of building a modern, state-of-the art facility to reflect,
and enhance, all that is going on at the school.
With the beginning of a new school year about to begin, I would like
to share with you a few highlights from the previous year:
- Building
- As
mentioned, phase one of our building campaign is on track with
the goal of raising $10 million in seed money before the
legislative session in January to show strong support for state
funding. A site has been chosen just south of the existing Law
Center and plans drafted for construction of a five-story,
high-tech building with the look and amenities commensurate with
a top-tier law school.
- Class of '21
- Although
the numbers are not official yet, those admitted to the incoming
class this fall represent the highest median UGPA, 3.61, and the
greatest diversity, 46.3 percent, in memory as well as the
highest LSAT, 160, since 2013. The Law Center offered admission
to 865 students, about one-third of the 2,654 who applied. The
final class size will not be determined until Oct. 5 when
statistics are certified by the Law School Admission Council and
sent to the American Bar Association, but as of the first day of
classes, we have 174 full-time and 31 part-time entering
students, 68.3 percent of whom received
scholarships.
- Rankings
- Three
Law Center specialty programs remain among the Top 10 in the
nation, according to the annual U.S. News & World Report
survey, with Health Law at #2, Intellectual Property #5 and the
Part-time Program #7. PreLaw magazine graded our Health Law and
Criminal Law programs a solid A. The LL.M. tax program was
ranked #2 by Corporate Council magazine while the LL.M. Guide, a
global directory and guide to more than 900 programs, placed the
school’s Energy and Health Law programs among the Top 10 in the
world.
- Harvey Relief Efforts
- Members
of the Law Center family rolled up their sleeves and pant legs
to help each other and the community at large in the flooded
aftermath of Hurricane Harvey last August. But relief efforts
didn’t stop when the water receded. Students and staff helped
with cleanup and rebuilding efforts. The school’s immigration,
consumer law and mediation clinics pitched in to help with
replacing lost documentation, and resolving complaints with
contractors and landlords. The popular People’s Law School
program held a special session devoted to storm-related issues
ranging from filing insurance claims to consumer fraud and
rights under deceptive trade law. Nearly a year after Harvey
devastated the area, the Hurricane Consumer Assistance Program
was started with a $205,000 community assistance grant from the
Greater Houston Community Foundation. In conjunction with the
Law Center’s clinics, the new program will operate a hotline to
help individuals with continuing legal problems, but also will
conduct workshops and neighborhood sessions to help people be
better prepared for the next natural disaster.
- Diversity
- “Insight
Into Diversity” magazine featured the Law Center —and me on its
cover — as a model of law school efforts to diversify the legal
profession. The article praised our Pre-Law Pipeline Program for
its success in preparing undergraduates from groups historically
underrepresented in the legal profession for law school and a
career in the law. With an overall student body that is 36.4
percent people of color, the magazine noted the Law Center
exceeds the national minority law school enrollment of 31.4
percent. The Law Center twice won the magazine's Higher
Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award. The school also
was ranked 22nd by Hispanic Outlook on Education magazine and
recognized as a “Most Diverse Law School” by prelaw magazine.
- Pre-Law Pipeline Program
- Our
award-winning summer program received a $300,000 grant from the
Law School Admission Council which will allow the school to
expand its reach by providing a $1,000 stipend to students to
cover expenses and pay for additional faculty and assistants.
The program, which recently completed its fourth year, is
designed to increase the number of lawyers from underrepresented
groups by introducing undergraduates to the demands of law
school and the opportunities of a career in the law.
- Community Service
- What
started my first year as a single day of volunteer service for
entering students before their first day of law school, has
expanded into Community Service Days. Students, faculty and
staff fan out across the city to help with a wide variety of
projects ranging from packing boxes at food banks to cleaning
parks to helping at legal workshops for juveniles, immigrants
and veterans. The experience fosters a bond among incoming
students, leads to lasting friendships, and instills a sense of
public service in the future
lawyers.
- Speakers/Events
- The
Law Center continued to host speakers and events, ranging from
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Star Jones and noted
legal scholars to an oral argument of the Texas Supreme Court
and visits of state and federal judges in the Sondock
Jurist-in-Residence program.
- Reaching Out
- The
Law Center is about to begin its third season of Briefcase
radio, a weekly, minute-long look at a legal topic introduced by
me and explained by a faculty expert on KUHF, the university’s
public radio station. We also launched an app that provides all
the information a prospective student might want to know about
the Law Center. Lastly, we have established an alumni chapter in
Washington, D.C.
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