Dean's Message
The State of the College: 5 questions for Dean Jerry
Q: In our last issue, we discussed changes in legal education. As the UF College of Law nears its 100-year anniversary, what are some of the most significant changes that have taken place there?
Certainly the diversity of our faculty and student body has changed dramatically. We recently honored UF Law Professor Walter Weyrauch’s record 51 years of continuous teaching at a single institution, and he noted that when he began teaching here that teachers and students alike were male and white. Today nearly half our student body is female, and more than a quarter are minorities. We also have grown considerably in size and scope. We opened in 1909 with 38 students and two faculty members. We now have more than 1,200 students and 100 faculty members (including tenure/tenure track, legal skills, and clinical).
Q: What events do you have planned for the college’s centennial in 2009?
Our biggest event we have scheduled now is our Centennial Celebration/All Classes Reunion April 24-25, 2009. We’re inviting alumni from every class year to return to campus to help us celebrate this significant milestone. So far, we have planned a century welcome reception, tours, Heritage of Leadership & Distinguished Alumnus ceremony, available CLE credits, a family BBQ with Albert & Alberta, decade dinners (classmates grouped by decades in separate locations), children’s dinner & movies (ages 5-12), an after party and a farewell brunch.
Q: What do you think would most surprise alumni returning to Gainesville after a significant absence?
Gainesville, the University of Florida and the College of Law have changed internally, of course, but the visual differences are most compelling. Gainesville is not a small college town anymore; it’s grown up. Highways have replaced dirt roads, and buildings stand where cows used to graze. Our college opened in 1909 in one unplastered room in Thomas Hall Dormitory. We moved to Bryan Hall in 1941, and then to the Spessard L. Holland Law Center in our current location in 1968. We added Bruton-Geer Hall in 1984 and our two classroom towers in 2005, along with a major renovation of Holland Hall and the Lawton Chiles Legal Information Center. Construction is now underway on the $6-million Martin H. Levin Advocacy Center, which will house a state-of-the-art courtroom and complete the total reconstruction of the college’s academic space during this decade. Our physical facilities are outstanding and a marvel to those who have not seen them within the last few years.