Dean's Column

Planning For the Law School’s Future

Law schools accredited by the ABA (American Bar Association) and the AALS (Association of American Law Schools) are visited every seven years as part of their accreditation to assure that they are continuing to meet the requirements for accreditation and are part of the efforts to help assure the quality of the educational programs at the members’ schools. Since our law school has been a member of the Association of American Law Schools since 1914 and accredited by the ABA since 1923, continued accreditation by these associations is important to our faculty, students, alumni, to West Virginia University, and to the legal profession in West Virginia.

Preparation for our site visit, which will be in the fall semester of the 2000-01 academic year began in September of 1999 with the appointment of a self-study steering committee. A self-study, which is the law school equivalent to a strategic plan, is central to the site visit. The self-study requires the law school to benchmark where it is today and to chart a course for its future. The preparation of the self-study report will be the principal responsibility of the Self-Study Steering Committee composed of Professors Ashdown, Lathrop, McConnell, McDiarmid, and Spieler. Four of the members of this committee either are serving or have served the College of Law as the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, and the fifth, Professor Spieler, has served as commissioner of a major state agency. The steering committee members, therefore, have both administrative and teaching experience and represent a variety of backgrounds, experiences, and viewpoints. The steering committee will involve the faculty as well as members of the Visiting Committee in the planning process.

I have asked the steering committee to identify which state supported law schools are considered among the best in the country and to study their curricula and their overall programs to help guide us in developing our own philosophy of the curriculum to serve our law school in the early decades of the next century. Once the philosophy of our curriculum is resolved, it will serve as a guide in the faculty recruitment/employment decisions in the years ahead as we hire to replace a number of our senior faculty as they retire.

An important part of the self-study process is a questionnaire which was mailed to our alumni in January. This questionnaire will provide information about their experiences while in law school and how they have used their legal education in their practice and professional life. Many of you may recall that a similar questionnaire was distributed seven years ago as part of that self-study effort. The information we will gain from these questionnaires will be crucial in helping us to plan for our future. Therefore, getting a good response to the questionnaires is extremely important for us to obtain statistically reliable information. While the questionnaire goes only to our alumni, we invite all members of the legal profession to help us in this process. Those who do not receive a questionnaire but who would like to share with us insight or wisdom about our profession, its strengths and weaknesses, and the direction that legal education should be taking are invited to send a letter to either Associate Dean Joyce McConnell, as chair of the committee, or to me at the West Virginia University College of Law, PO Box 6130, Morgantown, WV 26506-6130.

The site visit will take place in the fall of 2000, but the date has yet to be determined. The site accreditation team’s visit will begin on a Sunday evening with a tour of the law school and a dinner meeting with the Dean. Monday’s schedule will include a meeting with the President and Provost, a lunch meeting with the faculty, and an open meeting with students. Tuesday’s schedule may include meetings with graduates, members of the Visiting Committee and/or the bench and bar, and an evening reception with members of the legal community. Throughout Monday and Tuesday, team members may meet with faculty, visit classes, meet with various law school and university administrative officers, and various committees within the law school. Their visit concludes on Wednesday with a breakfast meeting with the Dean and a exit meeting with the President.

As I noted on several occasions in public appearances, I believe that due to the convergence of a number of events at this particular point in our law school’s history, I truly believe that our law school is uniquely positioned to move into the upper echelon of public law schools in this country. The interest and support of our alumni and friends, and the bench and bar are central to this opportunity. The foundation, history, and tradition that we have developed during the last century is certainly part of the positioning which now makes it possible for our institution to move forward at an accelerated pace in the early decades of the next century. Your help and assistance in responding to this questionnaire and providing to us other ideas and suggestions about the legal profession and legal education will also help us to take advantage of this unique opportunity to respond to the needs of the citizens of our state and the needs of the bench and bar in the years ahead.