An Oral History of St. Mary's University School of Law (1961–2018) Charles E
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View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Digital Commons at St. Mary's University, San Antonio St. Mary's Law Journal Volume 50 | Number 1 Article 4 4-18-2019 An Oral History of St. Mary's University School of Law (1961–2018) Charles E. Cantú St. Mary's University School of Law Follow this and additional works at: https://commons.stmarytx.edu/thestmaryslawjournal Part of the Curriculum and Instruction Commons, Educational Leadership Commons, Education Law Commons, Higher Education Commons, Higher Education Administration Commons, History Commons, Law and Society Commons, Legal Biography Commons, Legal Education Commons, Legal History Commons, Legal Profession Commons, Other Educational Administration and Supervision Commons, and the State and Local Government Law Commons Recommended Citation Charles E. Cantú, An Oral History of St. Mary's University School of Law (1961–2018), 50 St. Mary's L.J. 309 (2019). Available at: https://commons.stmarytx.edu/thestmaryslawjournal/vol50/iss1/4 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the St. Mary's Law Journals at Digital Commons at St. Mary's University. It has been accepted for inclusion in St. Mary's Law Journal by an authorized editor of Digital Commons at St. Mary's University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Cantú: Oral History of St. Mary's University School of Law (1961–2018) ARTICLE AN ORAL HISTORY OF ST. MARY’S UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW (1961–2018) CHARLES E. CANTÚ* Preface .................................................................................................... 311 I. An Unexpected Career in Law Teaching .......................................... 313 II. The Student Body in the Early 1960s ................................................ 316 III. 112 College Street ................................................................................. 319 IV. Student Life in the 1960s ..................................................................... 320 V. Teaching in the 1960s ........................................................................... 321 VI. The New Law Center, 1967 ................................................................ 323 VII. The Vietnam War and Expansion of the Student Body ................. 326 VIII. The Founding of the St. Mary’s Law Journal, 1969 ........................... 327 IX. Road Trips to Visit Alumni in the 1960s .......................................... 329 X. UTSA Opens, 1969 .............................................................................. 330 * BBA, JD, MCL, LLM, Fulbright Scholar; Dean Emeritus and Senior Professor in Residence, St. Mary’s University School of Law; Of Counsel (Mediations), Davis Cedillo & Mendoza, Inc., San Antonio, Texas. This article is based on a ten-hour oral history that Dean Cantú recorded during the summer and fall of 2017 with his long-time faculty colleague, Vincent R. Johnson. The recordings were made at the Blume Library of St. Mary’s University under the direction and supervision of Liza Sanchez. Professor Johnson organized a first draft of this article based on the recordings. The footnotes were supplied by either Professor Johnson or the St. Mary’s Law Journal staff, and include excerpts from the statements of the persons who graciously participated in oral history interviews (namely President Emeritus Dr. Charles L. Cotrell, and Professors Aloysius A. Leopold, David Dittfurth, and Bonita K. Roberts). 309 Published by Digital Commons at St. Mary's University, 2019 1 St. Mary's Law Journal, Vol. 50 [2019], No. 1, Art. 4 310 ST. MARY’S LAW JOURNAL [Vol. 50:309 XI. Tenure in the 1970s ................................................................... 331 XII. Closing of the Evening Program, Early 1970s ...................... 331 XIII. Expansion of the Student Body, 1970s .................................. 332 XIV. National Connections, 1970s ................................................... 333 XV. Relations with the Bench .......................................................... 335 XVI. Raba’s One-Man Rule ............................................................... 337 XVII. Castleberry Replaces Raba as Dean, 1978 .............................. 339 XVIII. Castleberry’s Team ..................................................................... 340 XIX. Financial Struggle with the University .................................... 343 XX. Faculty Scholarship, 1970s and Early 1980s .......................... 346 XXI. Faculty Collegiality, 1960s to Early 1980s .............................. 349 XXII. LL.M. at Michigan, 1978–1979 ................................................ 350 XXIII. Growth of the Faculty, 1981–1983 ......................................... 352 XXIV. The Young Turks, 1980s........................................................... 354 XXV. Edicts from the Dean, Early 1980s ......................................... 356 XXVI. Tough Grades ............................................................................. 358 XXVII. Raba and Sarita Kenedy East ................................................... 359 XXVIII. Sarita Kenedy East Law Library, 1984 .................................... 363 XXIX. The Round Building .................................................................. 364 XXX. New University Presidents, 1970s and 1980s ........................ 365 XXXI. Castleberry Denied Re-Appointment ..................................... 366 XXXII. The Dean Search to Replace Castleberry, 1989 .................... 367 XXXIII. Aldave Becomes Dean, 1989 .................................................... 368 XXXIV. Clinical Legal Education at St. Mary’s .................................... 369 XXXV. Tenure Battles, Early 1990s ...................................................... 371 XXXVI. Expert Witness ........................................................................... 373 XXXVII. The Charles E. Cantú Endowment for the Future ............... 373 XXXVIII. The Aldave Deanship Falters, 1994–1998 ............................. 374 XXXIX. Dean Piatt Replaces Aldave, 1998 ........................................... 378 XL. Associate Dean for Admissions ............................................... 379 XLI. South Texas Professor of Law, 2000–2014 ........................... 379 XLII. Appointment as Interim Law Dean, 2007–2008 ................... 381 XLIII. Goals as Dean, 2007–2014 ....................................................... 383 XLIV. Delegating to Associate Deans ................................................ 383 XLV. Starting a Summer Law Program in China, 2010 .................. 386 https://commons.stmarytx.edu/thestmaryslawjournal/vol50/iss1/4 2 Cantú: Oral History of St. Mary's University School of Law (1961–2018) 2019] AN ORAL HISTORY OF ST. MARY’S UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW 311 XLVI. The Distinguished Law Graduate Dinner .............................. 388 XLVII. Building Projects and Renovation ........................................... 391 XLVIII. Focus on Alumni ........................................................................ 392 XLIX. The Law School Foundation .................................................... 393 L. The Mission of the Law School ............................................... 393 LI. The Quest for a Smaller Law School ...................................... 395 LII. Hiring and Salaries Under Cantú ............................................. 396 LIII. The Bar Passage Rate ................................................................ 397 LIV. Fairly Treated .............................................................................. 398 LV. Stepping Down as Dean ........................................................... 398 LVI. After Being Dean, Mediating Cases ........................................ 399 LVII. Regrets ......................................................................................... 400 LVIII. A Torts Professor Who Loved Teaching ............................... 400 PREFACE Giving credit where credit is due, the publication of an oral history of St. Mary’s Law School was originally the idea of President Tom Mengler. After my retirement from the law faculty and returning as Dean Emeritus and a Senior Professor in Residence, he thought it was an ideal undertaking for me. Considering my long history with St. Mary’s, having taught at all three locations and having served with four of the school’s most recent former deans, I agreed. The idea has also garnered the support of the university’s Provost and Academic Vice President, Aaron Tyler. It must be acknowledged, however, that an undertaking of this sort involves many individuals, and I would be remiss not to thank those who were central to it. First on the list would be Vincent Johnson. He not only transcribed the tapes and added the appropriate annotations but also formed the long list of questions, which were a great help, if not the main impetus, in awakening my memory. He told me they were formulated on a long overnight flight over the Atlantic. Vincent also has a long history with the law school and was keen on focusing on what should be asked. There was also Liza Sanchez in the audio department of the Cotrell Commons who had great patience with us, as well as exhibiting an interest in what was being recorded. Her encouragement is much appreciated. Published by Digital Commons at St. Mary's University, 2019 3 St. Mary's Law Journal, Vol. 50 [2019], No. 1, Art. 4 312 ST. MARY’S LAW JOURNAL [Vol. 50:309 I would also like to