Law School Update
Feb. 23, 2007
Dear Colleagues:
I am very pleased to announce a generous gift for the UC Irvine School of Law – $1 million from the Joan Irvine Smith & Athalie R. Clarke Foundation to support the law school library’s core collection. Both Mrs. Smith and her late mother, Mrs. Clarke, have been longtime advocates of a law school at UC Irvine, and we are extraordinarily grateful for their foundation’s seminal support.
In the three months since the regents approved the law school, we have made rapid progress toward the school’s opening, which is scheduled for September 2009.
A national search for a founding dean is currently under way, led by Merage School of Business Dean Andy Policano. Interest in the position is exceptionally high, and we have identified dozens of highly qualified candidates.
We are gratified at the enthusiasm the school is generating in the legal community – locally and across the country. We have had meetings, conference calls or visits with several of the nation’s leading legal scholars, including sitting and former deans at more than a dozen law schools. We have met with representatives of the Orange County Asian American Bar Association and the Orange County Hispanic Bar Association, and I have recently appointed a select committee of community leaders to work with us during this critical stage in the law school's evolution.
Much of the enthusiasm for the School of Law stems from its founding principles, which include a focus on interdisciplinary study that builds on our strengths as a multifaceted, research-based university.
The School of Law will make a tremendous difference to our region. It will increase accessibility for students, and it will contribute to the quality of innumerable campus and community programs. The impact of our legal research and scholarship will be felt within and far beyond our borders.
The University of California was founded on the principles of excellence in teaching, research, scholarship and public service. The UC Irvine School of Law will strive to exemplify all that has made this university great.
Michael V. Drake, M.D.
Chancellor
