FlaLaw » Volume VI Issue 21

New ‘Rule Of Law’ Center Discussed, Mills Honored at Conference

wsmitty@ufl.edu — Mon, 21 Apr 2003 18:16:19 +0000

Top legal and policy experts from throughout Florida and Latin America participated April 13-14 in a unique “roundtable conference” organized by the law school’s Center for Governmental Responsibility (CGR). Panelists and commentators were charged with designing a blueprint for establishment of a “Center for Judicial Reform and Rule of Law in the Americas,” a UF initiative to be housed in the Levin College of Law. “When it is established and accomplishes the goals we discussed here, the Center for Judicial Reform and Rule of Law in the Americas could literally change the world by impacting how countries in this hemisphere work together,” said Mills. “That makes this fourth annual Legal & Policy Issues in the Americas conference particularly significant.” The proposed center is based on the concept that a democracy without an effective judiciary governed by the rule of law inhibits the capacity of its citizens to enjoy basic freedoms and discourages the international community from investing in the future of the country. The UF team proposes a universitybased program designed to collaborate with sister universities throughout the Americas to implement a program that strengthens the rule of law in the region. Collaborators include the Justice Studies Center of the Americas in Santiago, Chile, which joined with CGR, the UF Warrington College of Business Center for International Business Education and Research, and the Florida Journal of International Law as conference sponsors. “Everyone who participated in this discussion should consider themselves a partner in this important undertaking,” said Mills. “And our panelists and commentators were well-qualified to assist in its development. Participants represented 14 international universities from eight countries; six international organizations; eight private law firms; five international businesses; five U.S. universities; and 12 UF academic departments.” An outstanding leader in the Americas is selected for special recognition each year at the Legal and Policy Issues in the Americas conference. The award was named in honor of Dean Jon Mills this year. Terry L. McCoy, director of the Latin American Business Environment Program, associate director of UF’s Center for International Business Education and Research, and professor of Latin American studies and political science, presented Mills with a plaque commemorating the naming and honoring his leadership in the Americas. According to McCoy, “Mills founded the annual Americas conference, and his vision as dean of the Levin College of Law and founding director of the Center for Governmental Responsibility is strengthening international programs at the University of Florida and preparing graduates for the competitive global marketplace. By personally working in Central America, Haiti and Brazil, Mills is providing leadership in cooperation among universities, governments and non-governmental organizations throughout the Americas.” The “Jon Mills Award for Significant Contributions to Relations Between Florida and the Americas” was then presented to Paulo Roberto Pereira de Souza for his accomplishments in the development of a permanent relationship between the University of Florida and Brazil.

UF Law Student Christopher O’Neal Heads National Black Law Students Association

wsmitty@ufl.edu — Mon, 14 Apr 2003 18:03:56 +0000

Honors — and responsibilities — are piling up for second-year UF law student Christopher O’Neal. He was just appointed executive director of the National Black Law Students Association (NBLSA) — the first UF student in that role — after serving as special assistant to its board in 2002-03. He also was just elected president of BLSA’s local chapter, and plans to volunteer at the regional level. “BLSA represents students of color in ABA-accredited law schools across the nation, including Harvard, Yale and Stanford,” O’Neal said. “The appointment of a UF student to the national board will bring even more prominence to UF.” O’Neal noted that the UF College of Law has been very supportive of his BLSA activities. “I think of students as customers,” he said. “And our administrators — from the top down — work hard to achieve a high level of customer satisfaction.” BLSA offers students a number of opportunities to voice their concerns. NBLSA students contributed an amicus brief on the Grutter case — which involved affirmative action at the University of Michigan — and held demonstrations outside the U.S. Supreme Court in support of school diversity. Four participants were from UF: Venessa Gordon (3L), Alero Afejuku (3L), Daria Dawson (3L) and Kasmyene Hayes (3L). In April 2003, O’Neal was awarded the Clifford W. Crandall Memorial Scholarship, and in March he was voted BLSA’s Male Student of the Year during its annual alumni reunion. “It was a tremendous honor to be recognized by my peers,” said O’Neal. In February 2003, he was selected for the law school’s formidable Trial Team, which recently placed second in national competition. “I am looking forward to working with and learning from some of this country’s best litigating minds,” O’Neal said. A former policeman with more than eight years’ experience, O’Neal came to UF’s law school in Spring 2002. He still occasionally takes assignments for the Gainesville Police Department, and recently helped arrange a sting operation — on a volunteer basis — to help a fellow law student who was being repeatedly robbed at his home. O’Neal enjoys criminal law, but is uncertain which legal area he would like to specialize in. He interned for the Commercial Litigation Section of the National Bar Association, which represents more than 20,000 African-American lawyers, judges, educators and law students. “I enjoy public service, which is why I stayed in police work for so long,” O’Neal said. “If I’d given up the uniform, someone else would have taken it — maybe someone who didn’t care as much about people.”

Scholarship and Activities: Sherrie Russell-Brown

wsmitty@ufl.edu — Mon, 14 Apr 2003 17:58:55 +0000

Assistant Professor Sherrie Russell- Brown published “Labor Rights as Human Rights: The Situation of Women Workers in Jamaica’s Free Export Zones,” in 24 Berkeley J. Labor & Employment Law 179 (2003).

Dean’s Message

wsmitty@ufl.edu — Mon, 14 Apr 2003 17:53:18 +0000

Two recent surveys — Leiter and U.S. News & World Report — confirm the UF College of Law’s status as a top law school in America and among the very best in the Southeast. This is good news, though I have always felt — and still do — that we are underrated in national rankings. I am optimistic, however, that the synergy created by our hiring this year of an extraordinary group of new faculty, the continuing excellence of our current faculty, and the possibilities soon to be presented by new, state-of-the-art facilities will help our reputation catch up to our reality. For now — thanks to your combined efforts and the superior quality of our faculty and student body — we are firmly in the top tier and getting better each year. To summarize: • Brian Leiter of the University of Texas has posted the 2003-04 Ranking of Law Faculty Quality online at www.utexas.edu/law/faculty/bleiter/ rankings/rankings03.html. It rates law schools according to “faculty quality,” as measured by a survey of 150 leading legal academics (including UF law professors Christopher Slobogin and Barbara Bennett Woodhouse). The Levin College of Law is listed among five other “runners-up to the top 40.” • Our U.S. News numbers continue to improve. We were ranked 13th in selectivity (acceptance rate) — the fourth most selective public law school nationwide — 23rd in GPA, 39th both in student/faculty ratio and peer reputation, and 45th overall. • U.S. News ranks us first in diversity among other top tier schools — 15th overall — in the Southeast, and 30th in the nation. • In the eight states comprising the Southeast, law schools ranked in the top 50 both in Leiter and U.S. News are UF and North Carolina — the only two public institutions — Tulane, Vanderbilt, Duke and Emory. Rankings of educational institutions are not always reliable, regardless of formulas used, but they do help measure our progress. They also point to areas where we need to work harder, such as in our bar passage rate. Efforts to improve other statistics — our student/faculty ratio, expenditures for students and “at graduation” hiring rate — are underway. The first two should improve with additional faculty hires and more resources. Lower numbers in the third are primarily due to the UF College of Law being one of the few schools in the country with two graduating classes, since employment figures for December graduating classes typically don’t catch up to those for fall graduates until 6-9 months after graduation. Our strategic plan calls for eliminating the spring class after 2005, which should dramatically improve this rating. The bottom line is that the Levin College of Law is firmly in the top 25 percent of the nation’s 185 ABA-accredited law schools, and at the very top in the Southeast. We are proud of this accomplishment and national recognition of the quality of our diverse student body and effectiveness of our faculty and programs. It assures us that we are progressing toward our goal of becoming one of the nation’s top 10 public colleges of law, and helps us focus on what we need to do to make this happen. Finally, please note that rankings are not the only indicators of our progress and success. Applications are up, students and faculty are excelling at national levels, and our alumni are more active than ever before in their support. We all can take pride in these accomplishments, and what they promise for the future. — Dean Jon Mills