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As Seen by the Dean

photo of Dean Young

The “New Dean,” One Year Later

With the completion of my first graduation, I am told that I am no longer the “New Dean.” The question I have been asked more than any other at the various alumni events I have attended across the country and overseas during my first year as dean is: How is The George Washington University Law School different from other law schools with which I am familiar? There are a number of aspects to my answer, but the core of the answer is always the same—what distinguishes our Law School most in my mind is the nature of the community that we have built and that we continue to build every day.

The basis of that community is our law students, and GW Law students are remarkable! When I say this, I am not just referring to their extraordinary qualifications and accomplishments.

The truly remarkable thing about GW Law students is the way in which they engage with the school on so many levels. They are accomplished students and scholars in the classroom, skilled practitioners in the clinics and moot court programs, and concerned citizens in response to such causes as the need to resettle students from New Orleans area law schools to our school this past fall.

The myriad student organizations and activities are truly astounding—we have more than 50 student organizations and more events held each week than any one person could attend. Moreover, the quality of student-led events is such that there is often no clear line between the curricular and extracurricular.

Let me give just a few recent examples.

Our Human Rights Society hosted a Conference on Poverty and Human Rights, receiving our award for an Outstanding Student-Organized Event for the 2005-06 academic year. This conference explored the relationship between poverty and human rights from a variety of perspectives. I was particularly pleased to have been a participant in this conference.

The International Law Society hosted a weeklong set of conferences that attracted students from surrounding law schools and other GW graduate programs. The conferences related to all areas and facets of the international law practice and included dynamic panel discussions, law firm tours, and visits to the U.S. State Department and the World Bank.

The Human Rights Law Society and our International Human Rights Clinic hosted a ground-breaking event titled, “Voices of Guantanamo,” where former detainees and experts discussed the conditions and legal issues related to detainees held at the American naval base at Guantanamo. This event received national coverage on C-SPAN and was as professionally produced as any prime time news broadcast.

The truly remarkable thing about GW Law students is the way in which they engage with the school on so many levels. They are accomplished students and scholars in the classroom, skilled practitioners in the clinics and moot court programs, and concerned citizens in response to such causes as the need to resettle students from New Orleans area law schools to our school this past fall.

At the same time, our students maintain a wonderful perspective on the law school experience. Too often law students today will adopt a tough affect as if that is what it must mean to be an attorney. I am proud that with all their accomplishments, our students are also people who know how to take time to relax. I like to say that the GW student is someone who knows how to work seriously without taking him or herself too seriously.

Last month was my first “Deans’ Jeans Day,” which, for those of you who are unfamiliar with the occasion, is a kind of afternoon carnival in the University Yard right outside our buildings. On this day the faculty, staff, and students alike participate in good-natured athletic competitions, and the dean, wearing the obligatory blue jeans, helps to serve hamburgers and hot dogs.

I think it is fair to say that at a great number of American law schools, students, and faculties would not feel comfortable kicking back in this way. Of course there is nothing about the ability to relax as a community that is inconsistent with an active and robust academic community and a serious and rigorous training ground for new lawyers. In fact, I believe that this sense of balance is essential to a healthy life and a successful and satisfying professional career.

Let me conclude these reflections on my first year with one additional observation that has struck me this year. To be sure we have issues that we must address, but I am aware on a daily basis of our “non-problems,” that is, the issues that do give rise to problems at other laws schools that we do not have here.

Let me just cite two. Ours is a very large school. We provide more than 500 courses to roughly 1,800 JD and LLM students taught by a full-time faculty of nearly 90 and an adjunct faculty of some 250. We select an entering class of approximately 500 students from well over 10,000 applicants, each of whom submits a file that is reviewed in the admissions office. Yet this large operation runs remarkably smoothly thanks to a dedicated and very talented staff. Today, I can say with pride that the needs of the students and faculty in the operation of the Law School are met and met very well. But I do not take this for granted, and I am grateful for this “non-problem.”

The other “non-problem” to which I refer concerns our relations with the central University. Let me state it clearly, they are more than just cordial—they are collegial and supportive. I know this may come as a surprise to some of you, but this refers to a wide range of issues including allocation of resources, interdisciplinary programs, and the possibility of establishing a Law School dorm in the near future, about which I hope to share more soon.

Community and Collegiality…What an outstanding view from the Dean’s office!

This has been a great first year for me as dean at GW Law. I consider it a great honor and privilege to serve as your dean, and I hope that all of us at the Law School will continue to earn your trust and support in our future endeavors. Thank you for all that you have done to support us. Thank you even more for all that you may yet do. Together there is no limit to what we can yet accomplish at our Law School.

Frederick M. Lawrence
Dean and Robert Kramer Research Professor of Law