FlaLaw » 2003 » February » 10

Mediation Symposium Exceeds Expectations

wsmitty@ufl.edu — Mon, 10 Feb 2003 19:48:54 +0000

Concerted efforts by Florida Dispute Resolution Center Director Sharon Press and UFLaw Institute for Dispute Resolution (IDR) Director Don Peters (both at right, with IDR Associate Directors Alison Gerencser and Jonathon Cohen) helped bring nearly 150 participants to UFLaw in January for the symposium, “Transformative Mediation: Fulfilling the Promise.” Topics included Florida research and its implications for mediation in court-connected programs, mediator training, and transformative mediation myths and misconceptions. The event was sponsored by IDR and the Florida Dispute Resolution Center, which assists the Supreme Court of Florida mediation board and committees, certifies mediators and mediation training programs, sponsors an annual conference for mediators, and trains volunteer mediators.

In the Spotlight: Michael Wolf

wsmitty@ufl.edu — Mon, 10 Feb 2003 15:44:36 +0000

In addition to new Dean Robert Jerry and Legal Information Center Director Mary Kathleen Price, both who arrive in July, UF Law will welcome in Fall 2003 Environmental and Land Use Law professors Michael Wolf, Mary Jane Angelo (arriving in Fall 2004) and Christine Klein; Associate Professor Cally Jordan and Assistant Professor Christopher Peterson. And George Yin will serve in Spring 2004 as a visitor in the Freeland Eminent Scholar in Taxation Chair.

University of Richmond Law and History Professor Michael Wolf earned his B.A. from Emory University, A.M. and Ph.D. from Harvard, and J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center. His focus is on Property, Land-Use Planning, Environmental Law, Environmental Law and Policy and Local Government. He also has been visiting professor at The American University Washington College of Law, Associate Professor at Oklahoma City University School of Law, and research associate and teaching fellow at Harvard. He is a prolific and widely published author. “Michael draws on legal history extensively in his work on land use law; and his keen interest in the intersection of land use and environmental law is a great fit with our program, which emphasizes the relationship of these two fields,” said Program Director Alyson Flournoy. “As the Richard E. Nelson Chair of State and Local Government Law, his interest in land use will enrich our program in state and local government law.”

Dean’s Message

wsmitty@ufl.edu — Mon, 10 Feb 2003 15:42:35 +0000

I am pleased to report the successful conclusion of two major law school efforts — our search for a new leader for the Levin College of Law and another phase of our building campaign. Most of you have learned by now of University of Florida President Charles Young’s announcement that former University of Kansas Law School Dean Robert Jerry will join the college in July as its 13th dean. Jerry is now Missouri Endowed Floyd R. Gibson Professor at the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law. (Complete story on Jerry at www.law.ufl.edu.) Many of you also may know that while we received the bulk of our funding — more than $23 million in public and private funds — for construction before last fall, we continued to raise funds to enable us to again apply for state matching dollars and come closer to the estimated $50 million needed to complete all phases of our construction and renovation plans. We intensified this effort in September, and by the end of the year received $564,000 in gifts and pledges — from $25 to $100,000 — from 105 donors. As a result, UF has placed the law school on a list for a Courtelis Fund match of $1,128,000. Construction begins later this year. More than $300,000 of the contributions resulted from a fund-raising effort for the Justice Stephen C. O’Connell Supreme Court Reading Room. The project was initiated by his widow, Cynthia O’Connell, to seek gifts from his friends and colleagues to name a large study room in the new library space in his honor. A special note of thanks and congratulations for the success of this project goes to our alumni leaders and Development Director Donald Hale, Associate Director Kelly Wood and others in the Development and Alumni Affairs Office for theirhard work and dedication. As I have said, we need facilities that match the quality of our students, staff, faculty and alumni. Now we will fulfill that promise. As you may read in the message below from Professor Jerry — sent to the law school community following President Young’s announcement — this kind of shared commitment to the advancement of an institution is vital to its success. Professor Jerry feels — as I do — that people here are dedicated to the best interests of the law school. He shares our vision for the future of this great place, and I am pleased he is joining us. — Dean Jon Mills

Please know I am delighted that I will soon be moving to Gainesville to serve as dean of the Levin College of Law. My wife, Lisa, shares my enthusiasm. We are eager to make the transition and appreciate your many offers of assistance. When the search process began many weeks ago, I spoke honestly when I told search committees, provosts and presidents that I did not want to be a dean again unless it could be at an institution where there was a shared commitment among the faculty, administration and alumni to take a strong institution and move it to the next level. I believe I have found that situation at Florida. You already have faculty, staff, and students of extraordinary quality. But I am confident that if we work together and make good decisions that build on this foundation, the college’s best years are in its future. I will be making a number of trips to Gainesville before July 1. Although some of those trips will be short, I hope I will be able to visit with many of you on those occasions. — Professor Robert Jerry

Beyond the Law School: New Title, Old Role

wsmitty@ufl.edu — Mon, 10 Feb 2003 15:38:05 +0000

Longtime Associate Dean for Students Gail Sasnett has two additions to her title — Professionalism and Community Relations — and she hopes they will help her guide students toward rewards inherent in both. Sasnett is widely known as a cheerful, energetic and concerned student-advocate, but few are aware of her commitment to volunteer activities — including child-advocacy, women’s advancement, substance-abuse rehabilitation and legal professionalism. She is an advocate of the Guardian Ad Litem Program, which provides court-appointed “Guardians” to advocate for a child’s interests in dealing with parents, foster parents and governmental entities. “I encourage all law students to become Guardians,” said Sasnett. “The program needs volunteers, and it’s a great way to get into court. Most cases don’t last as long as my first one.” Sasnett’s first case was an infant removed from her home after a sibling died from “Shaken Baby Syndrome.” The case is still unsolved, and the child was put into foster care and eventually adopted, ending what had become a five-year responsibility for Sasnett. Her involvement with Kiwanis Club of Gainesville, where she served last year as its fourth woman president, also involves children. “The club’s motto is ‘Young Children Priority One,’” she said. Partnering with the City of Gainesville, Kiwanis is spearheading “Safety City,” a child-sized town in East Gainesville where children are taught about safety and common accident sources such as bicycling, crossing streets, gas and electricity. Sasnett has worked toward the advancement of women as past president and longtime board member of the National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL), and last year joined the board of Women for Wise Growth, a local organization that studies growth issues and seeks to balance the county’s diverse interests. “There’s something wonderful about working with women to better the community,” said Sasnett. She recently joined Leadership Gainesville, a several-month-long program that introduces community leaders to the city’s inner structure. “It’s a good way for me to help integrate the law school with the rest of the community,” she said. “It’s also educational; there are many resources and channels people are not aware of.” She also has been active in Florida Lawyers Assistance, Inc., which assists lawyers with substance- abuse problems, and has helped expand the drug-court movement — what she calls Therapeutic Jurisprudence. “We shouldn’t criminalize people who are sick,” Sasnett said. “We need to focus more on rehabilitation.” In her “spare time,” Sasnett as president of the Counsel of University Neighborhoods (CUNA) helped defeat a proposal to turn SW 2nd Avenue into a one-way street; chairs UF’s Transportation and Parking Committee; and serves on the Regional Transit Services Citizens Advisor Board and two Florida Bar committees: Professionalism and Student Education, and Admissions to the Bar.

In the Spotlight: Christopher Slobogin

wsmitty@ufl.edu — Mon, 10 Feb 2003 15:36:34 +0000

Stephen C. O’Connell Professor Christopher Slobogin published two symposia articles: “The Poverty Exception to the Fourth Amendment” (Florida Law Review) and “Public Privacy: Public Camera Surveillance and the Right to Anonymity” (Mississippi Law Journal).

In the Spotlight: Berta Esperanza Hernandez-Truyol

wsmitty@ufl.edu — Mon, 10 Feb 2003 15:27:09 +0000

Professor Berta Esperanza Hernandez-Truyol will speak on the relationship of law and culture at an Albany Law School comparative law conference. Her article, “Building Bridges V-Cubans Without Borders: Mujeres Unidas por su Historia,” was published in Florida Law Review.