Dean's Message

We are off to the start of another great year at Capital Law School. Classes began Aug. 24 with one of the most diverse incoming classes in the law school’s history.

Our new incoming class of 248 (182 full-time and 66 part-time) students:

• is split equally between men and women

• is 15 percent students of color

• comes from 20 states, plus Canada and Germany

• ranges in age from 21–55, with the average age being 26;

• and 11 new students already hold a graduate degree.

What is even more impressive is we received more than 1,450 applications—a 15 percent increase over 2008 and well ahead of application trends at other law schools nationwide. I believe that this is positive recognition of our growing reputation and interest in the outstanding education and opportunities Capital Law provides its students.

Summer classes kept the school busy with 285 students enrolled in a variety of intensive, week-long courses, including adoption law, nine different dispute resolution courses, electronic legal research, and international human rights. More than 60 students from other law schools enrolled in one of these courses, providing an engaging learning environment and helping to spread Capital’s growing reputation.

I want to thank all of you who gave back to the Law School this past academic year through your time, talent and treasure. Our alumni continue to be a valued resource to our many faculty and administrators and to me as Dean. You volunteer your time to serve on our boards and committees, to speak in law classes or participate in professional programming for students, to serve as mentors, or to present CLE programs for our alumni. In one of the most difficult economies, you gave back to your law school with donations that helped us surpass our goal for alumni giving, achieving a 13.29% participation rate!! The highest in the Law School’s history. And, through the inaugural year of the Law Firm Challenge, 59% of our alumni at the 21 participating firms donated and three firms, reached 100% participation: Benesch; Wiles, Boyle, Burkholder & Bringardner; and Reminger & Reminger. Congratulations and Thank You to Everyone!

We are aggressively pursing an agenda that continues to advance the Law School. Some of our goals this year that will continue to build upon and maintain our momentum include:

• Having a successful dean search and transition - I invite you to read where we are with the Dean Search

• Hiring 2 new tenure-track faculty

• Increasing support for faculty teaching and scholarly engagement

• Supporting staff professional development

• Increasing communications with students

• Improving technology

• Maintaining initiatives that have helped our alumni meet success on the bar exam

• Creating a small business clinic within the legal clinic to help students with clinical transactional opportunities

• Beginning a curricular assessment

• Expanding our alumni engagement and growing attendance at the Alumni Recognition Luncheon. Save the Date and please plan to attend the 5th Annual Alumni Recognition Luncheon on April 30, 2010

• Completing the Law School’s branding project

• Continuing to building our Culture of Philanthropy among our alumni and alleviate our dependence on tuition

Thank you for your ongoing support of the Law School. I look forward to seeing many of you throughout the year at our various events.

Sincerely,

Jack