On Oct. 21, the law school deans held the Levin College of Law’s first ever town hall meeting in which students were able to ask questions of Deans Robert Jerry, Bill Page, Rachel Inman, and Linda Calvert-Hanson. Presented by the John Marshall Bar Association (JMBA), and moderated by JMBA President and law school Senator James Tyger, Jerry’s opening presentation was aimed at addressing many issues relevant to the student body, including the opening of the new Martin H. Levin Advocacy Center, the law school’s virtual existence in Second Life, minority enrollment, tuition hikes, and bar passage rates.

In addition, Jerry introduced some new faces on the faculty and staff, including Deans Michelle Adorno and Deb Staats, and Professors John Stinneford and Shalini Ray.

Beginning his presentation, Jerry was proud to report that UF Law now has a place in the virtual world Second Life. He showed screenshots of the virtual campus and explained how a class, taught by Professor Michelle Jacobs, is currently operating through the system. Page said students who are interested in being admitted to the virtual campus could send him their Second Life avatar to access the system.

The main focus of Jerry’s presentation, however, was the reputation and success of the law school and its graduates. Jerry reported that applications were up 2.4 percent to 3,421 this past fall, and admissions were down 17 percent to 780 in an effort to decrease the size of the student body from 1,200 to 900 students over the next few years. Jerry was especially proud of the diversity of the law school, which reached its second highest minority enrollment in the OneFlorida era.

Additionally, through a series of Powerpoint slides, Jerry outlined how tuition would increase steadily each year until it reaches $21,638 for two 13-hour semesters in 2013. In explaining the rationale for the tuition hikes, Jerry stated that the tuition at UF Law has been kept low in relation to schools of comparative rank, and that the extra funds from tuition would enable UF to move up in those rankings by offering more and better services for students. He also said that the extra tuition dollars would allow the law school to offer more scholarships.

Among the topics addressed during the Q & A were concerns with the ExamSoft software. Ross Chafin (2L) said, “With the prevalence of Macs in the classroom, Examsoft should be compatible with both Apple and Microsoft operating systems, and students should not be required to have to purchase a certain brand of computer or operating system just for two or three exams per semester,” said Chafin. Inman responded that in the past Examsoft said they would produce a Mac-compatible version of the software, but to this date they had not. Other technical issues raised by students were the lack of a server to back up work done on library computers, and the incompatibility of the ISIS calendar with the law school schedule and class names.

Lastly, students raised concerns about the number of options in the law school cafeteria noting that off-campus eateries remain the only choice for a hot meal. Inman indicated that adding a hot meal in the cafeteria may be a possibility, but would need feedback from the students indicating what kinds of meals they would be most interested in (pizza, chicken sandwiches, and hot deli sandwiches were all mentioned).

JMBA would like to thank everyone who came out and supported the effort to foster open communication between the administration and the student body.