The Review, Spring 1988

SPRING 1988 Wang donates record $160,000 gift Wang Laboratories, Inc. and Informatics, Inc. have donated to the College of Law computing equipment and software with a total value of $160,000, the largest single gift ever received by the College. With this equipment, not only has the school greatly expanded its internal computer capability, but also faculty will be able to teach College of Law students how to use computers in the practice of law. According to Associate Dean Paul Van Booven, who worked closely with Wang and Informatics in implementing the gift, "The College will now be able to integrate computer concepts into existing courses, as well as create new courses in law office management and technology." Also, the College plans to make the equipment available for demonstrations to alumni and others in the legal profession interested in UK President David Roselle announces the College of Law's gift of computer equipment and software. learning more about how computers can help them in their practice. The major gift from Wang Laboratories is other deadlines and a conflicts of interest and representatives from Wang a mini-computer, which will support up to checking program. Laboratories and Informatics attended the 32 printers and workstations. Wang also In order to best utilize the Informatics ceremony, including Gary Daichendt, donated IBM·compatible software which system, a special suite of offices has been Regional Director for Wang Labs, and Jerry includes a very sophisticated inter-office equipped on the second floor of the College Prine, Territory Manager for Informatics, and inter-University electronics mail as a model law office. With the Inc. communication system. In addition, the demonstration database included in the Continued on page 12 College will receive software that can software package, students can get a feel access Lexis, a nationwide database for for the many problems presented in legal legal research materials. Many of the practice by potential time and client school's internal functions will be made conflicts. The system can be integrated into more efficient by the Wang gift, from word the litigation skills course and professional processing and student and alumni record ethics classes. Also, the College of Law keeping to faculty research. may establish a course in law office The most direct benefit to students will management, in which the new computer flow from the educational capabilities of the system would playa major role. Informatics software. The College has The Wang equipment and Informatics Roy and Virginia Ray lecture received an all-encompassing legal time software were unveiled at a dedication management program for billing and ceremony held at the College of Law on KU Constitutional Symposium attorney time management, a docket Thursday, October 8, 1987. University of control and firm calendar program for Kentucky President David Roselle 1987 Homecoming Reception reminders of meetings, court dates, and announced the gift. A number of officers Dean's Report Note: The followingis taken from remarks There are more reasons for these shows a commitment to scholarship, as delivered by Dean Lawson at the excellent evaluations of the College than I does the fact that six professors (or one- 1987Annual Alumni Banquet at the can describe in a brief period of time. But I quarter of the total) are nearing the Bar Convention in Louisville. can highlight at least the most important conclusion of work on book projects. On a 1. ones. regular basis members of the faculty are 2. invited to teach as visiting professors at In my five years as dean I have not made some of the best law schools in the country. a comprehensive report on the status of the The most important ingredient in any One faculty member was on leave last year College to the alumni. I know of your great kind of educational program is the faculty. If as a professor-in-residence with the Internal interest in the welfare of the school and you put a competent and dedicated teacher Revenue Service and another is teaching would like to take a few minutes to tell you in a class room in any part of the system, this year in the People's Republic of China how things have gone and how they you willsee nothing but good things as a Fulbright Fellow. promise to go in the future. At the outset I happen. It is my firm belief that we have should warn you that I do not share the assembled in our school a first-rate faculty 3. which takes its teaching responsibilities very feelings of despair about education in For a long time a highly qualified student seriously. Evidence of high quality Kentucky which seem to dominate public body has been one of our strengths. That instruction comes from a wide variety of discussion on the subject. Predictions of has not changed at allover the last five sources. doom and gloom have filledthe air waves years. Our school is still the one of choice Our teachers and our courses are and newsprint of Kentucky for so long that by most Kentuckians who decide to pursue evaluated in writing by the student body one can easily get the impression that there the study of law. We lose some very fine every semester. These evaluations are done is no quality to be found anywhere in the resident students to law schools in other anonymously under circumstances system. I do not mean to say that higher states and are trying to do something to designed to assure reliability.I have read education in general is perfectly robust and minimize this loss. But we continue to have thousands of them over the past five years healthy in Kentucky. But I do mean to say a very strong resident application pooL that the College of Law has never been and I can tell you that the students of the For this year's entering class we had better, is very solid by any meaningful College have an extraordinarily high regard about 800 applications. This was about 25% standard of measurement, and is in a for the competence and performance of more than for the previous year, an increase position to move toward honest-to- their teachers. Time and again, for five which far exceeded the increase in goodness excellence in the near future. years running, they have rated the faculty consistently and uniformly superb. applications to all law schools in the Obviously my opinions are biased, iffor country. From that pool we enrolled 163 In this regard I am reminded of no other reason than the fact that I have students. Our 1987entering class is something that happened last fall when the spent most of my professional lifein the probably the strongest we have ever had. College. Fortunately, I am not left to rely on College Visiting Committee was on In specific ways, it is possible to see the my own personal opinions in reporting to campus. As a routine part of its annual visit, consequences of mixing highly promising you on the status of the school. Two years this committee meets privately with a fairly students with a very strong faculty. As you ago, the College had its regular seven-year sizeable group of students who occupy know, most of the 200 law schools in the reaccreditation inspection by the American various positions of leadership in the country participate in a national moot court Bar Association and the Association of student body. Following this most recent competition each year. Last year our team American Law Schools. The inspection meeting, one of the members of the competed against teams from the most team came from some solid law schools committee expressed delight and a bit of reputable law schools in the nation and did around the country and spent three days surprise at the glowing report by the so very successfully. We won the regional looking at every facet of our program. At students about their professors and competition, made it to the final four teams the end of this exercise, the College commented that a meeting of that sort before losing in the national round, and on received very high marks and an inspection during his era in the school would surely the way to that success defeated the report which was clearly superior to have produced an array of negative ultimate national winner. anything we have received during my two comments about the faculty. I had a similar decades in the school. At about this same experience with the chairman of the ABN In recent years, our students have time, the state's Council on Higher AALS inspection team at the conclusion of demonstrated an ability to compete Education undertook a fairly the reaccreditation visit. He described an successfully in the work place against comprehensive and careful review of extraordinary level of student satisfaction students from anywhere. Law firms and Kentucky's professional education with the educational experience offered other employers who come to school to programs. The state's three law schools here and noted that this makes a strong recruit are delighted with the graduates were laid side-by-side and end-to-end for statement about the quality of the faculty. I from our College. Placement opportunities assessments of quality. And from this agree. have never been better for our students. exercise as well our College emerged with The quality of the faculty is demonstrated Nor have they ever had such a wide flyingcolors and a much higher and more in other ways as well. A steady stream of geographical distribution. Over 20%of the widely-held regard for its quality.

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