October 1999
Animal Law Cited by
New York Times
Collected by Liz Krug; Edited and Compiled by Emily Davis
ACADEMIC ENHANCEMENT
Student Representatives: Roman Hernandez and Trung Tu
The Academic Enhancement Committee
has not met yet, and will not meet until the end of the
semester or the beginning of next semester when applications
start coming in.
Student Representatives: Megan Adams and Philip Kline
The Admissions Committee has not
yet met this year.
Student Representatives: Kevin Minoli and Melissa Powers
The Faculty Budget Committee has
not yet met this year.
Student Representatives: Rob Anglin and Tonya Rulli
The Alumni Board met on September
8, when this year's student representatives met the Board
for the first time. The date for the next Alumni Day was
discussed, and it is planned for some time in September
2000. (The last Alumni Day was unfortunately scheduled
during exams, so student attendance was abysmal.)
Student Representative: Christine Spencer
The business law faculty met on Wednesday, October 6th. Topics of discussion included the 1999 Intellectual Property Forum, deciding a topic for the 2000 Forum, deciding a topic for the 2000 Roundtable and preliminary interviews for hiring a new part-time Business Law Program Director.
The Intellectual Property Forum was held on October 1, 1999. Professor Lydia Loren was very pleased with the conference and has received strong, positive feedback from conference participants, attorneys, and students. The next step is to follow up with conference presenters and get their papers for the Journal of Small and Emerging Business Law.
The topic for the 2000 Business Law forum will be "Government Regulation of Small Businesses." Dean Huffman will coordinate the conference/forum. The forum will examine how government agency regulations (for example, employment regulations) impact small businesses. For further information, contact Professor Johnson or Dean Huffman.
The topic of the spring 2000 Roundtable will focus on the Oregon Business Initiative and creating a favorable climate for business development in Oregon. Professors Gordon Smith, Laurence Sung and Jennifer
Johnson will all be involved. Second- and third-year students should be aware that ten $500 scholarships will be available for participation in the roundtable. Applications will be made available in early to mid-November.
Some preference is given to third year students. The time commitment is minimal and it is an excellent networking opportunity. For further information, contact any of the above professors.
The application deadline for the
part-time Business Law Director's position recently passed.
The faculty committee has begun initial interviews. They are
looking for a director with good contacts to the Portland
business community or a clear ability to build such
contacts. The Director is involved in the planning of the
Forum and Roundtable events each year as well as admissions
and the shaping of the business law certificate program.
Brad Lynott had been the Director, however he has moved into
a new administrative position. For further information on
the selection process, contact Professor Jennifer
Johnson.
Student Representatives: John Belknap and Margi Lifsey
The curriculum committee will address the following issues this year:
1. Grades. The main issue is whether NWSL will attempt to raise the grading curve, so NWSL students are not less competitive in the job market than other schools' students (especially for jobs that emphasize grades more than class rank). There is also talk of removing the plus or minus behind the letter grades or implementing a whole new system of grading, based on numbers or other ranking criteria. The committee intends to issue a report on grades by December 1999 or January 2000.
2. Class rank. Today, NWSL has 7 classes: 1D, 1E, 2D, 2E, 3D, 3E, and 4E. Each class is ranked within itself. Because some classes are very small in number, it has been proposed that there be only three classes for rank purposes: "first year," "intermediate," and "final year." Presumably, individual students' placement in these three classes would be based on number of credits completed.
3. Year-long grades. There is some controversy about averaging each semester's grade in year-long courses. In Civil Procedure, for example, the two semesters are weighed equally, even though students receive three credits for completing the first semester and two credits for the second semester.
4. Open exams. The committee intends to clarify whether students should be allowed to use the library for open exams. The committee will also discuss whether it is appropriate for professors to proctor exams on a "semi-open" basis, that is, allow exams to be taken any time between a given set of days, and whether exams should be allowed reading period.
Any student input on these issues
is welcome and encouraged. Please e-mail John Belknap at
belknap@lclark.edu or Margi Lifsey at lifsey@lclark.edu.
Student Representatives: Brett Brownscombe and Tim Murphy
The following noteworthy issues arose at the faculty's first meeting of the 1999-2000 school year. First, Professor Steve Kanter, last year's Admissions Committee Chair, announced that the newly enrolled class now stands at 199 members, a number near the goal of 205 despite a lower than desired total applicant pool. Lee Gadinas has been named the new Head of Admissions and will work to reverse the dismaying trend in decreasing applicant numbers.
Second, the law school may begin a candidate search for an additional teaching position. Faculty Appointments Chair Professor Craig Johnston asked faculty members for their feedback on whether to hire a new tenure track position, and if so, in what area. Faculty members did not illuminate one clear priority, but a number of professors spoke of their desire for someone in the international area (business and/or public law). The Appointments Committee will continue to explore this question.
Third, Dean Huffman addressed the status of building plans for law school expansion. The proposed expansion will occur in two phases. Phase I of the building plans, involving the expansion of the law library, is close to complete. Architect Jon Wiener, who has designed current plans, visited campus the week of October 4, 1999 to present current plans and receive student feedback.
Finally, the SBA Faculty Committee
representatives presented the faculty with a memo aimed at
increasing student understanding of and involvement in the
faculty tenure process. The faculty agreed to explore this
issue further at the next faculty meeting. The SBA
representatives were to discuss the topic with the Tenure
Committee in the meantime.
Student Representatives: Helen Kim and Kenneth Stafford
The Faculty Appointments Committee
has met to discuss hiring an associate professor for next
year. The committee's goal is to bring a person with a
diverse background, great academic potential, and a
specialty in either wills and estates, international
business transactions, or both. The committee has reviewed
the resumes of many applicants and is sending some members
of the committee to Washington, D.C. on November 4 and 5,
1999 to interview preferred applicants. From this interview
process, the committee will select one or two applicants to
bring back to the law school in the spring to conduct
further interviews and to conduct a sample class for the
student body.
Student Representative: Emily Davis
There are no Honor Board
activities to report at this time.
Student Representatives: Mark Riskedahl and Tracy Sullivan
There are no Natural Resources
Committee activities to report at this time.
Student Representative: John Schroedel
There are no Technology Committee activities to report at this time.
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Student Representative: David Bean
Student Representative David Bean is scheuled to meet with Lewis & Clark President Michael Mooney at the end of October to learn more about the current board and the issues it
addresses. The first Board of
Trustees meeting of the year will be held on November 19.
Any student with issues they would like the Board to address
should contact David Bean at dbean@lclark.edu.
Student Representative: Esin Onart
There are no Board of Visitors activities to report at this time.
STUDENT SERVICES COMMITTEE
Co-chairs: Matt Michel and Christine Spencer
The Student Services Committee is responsible for translating student needs into improvements of the law school environment. The committee works to enhance community and communication and improve services and
facilities. The Student Services Committee is co-chaired by Christine Spencer and Matt Michel, and members include David Bean, Jennifer Delaney, Glenn Fullilove, Tim Murphy, and John Schroedel. The SBA Retreat on October 3, 1999 provided ideas for several proposed projects and goals to be undertaken by the Student Services Committee.
The Student Services Committee held its organizational meeting on October 11. The meeting's agenda included reviewing and evaluating proposed goals and projects, prioritizing accepted goals and projects, and planning a strategy for successfully accomplishing those tasks.
The proposed goals and projects include the implementation of these ideas:
· developing policies on smoking on campus
· creating a system for keeping the microwaves and refrigerator clean and sanitary
· arranging for emergency baby-sitting service
· putting an automatic teller machine on campus
· revamping the law school's relationship with Financial Aid (or seceding from the upper campus)
· making sure incoming first-year students are notified that private loans are not always available
· requesting that the Registrar's Office remain open during the noon hour
· ensuring that Watzek Library is open throughout the law school exam period
· posting class schedules outside classrooms so people will stop walking in on classes in session and/or the wrong classroom
· encouraging that professors turn grades in on time
· installing signs on the law school campus with maps of upper campus
· creating a bridge between law students and the Collins View Neighborhood Association and
· ensuring that students are involved in the academic calendar planning process.
Do you have a concern not listed
among the goals of this year's Student Services Committee?
Do you have some thoughts regarding a listed goal? If so,
please contact a Student Services committee member, or
e-mail Chris Spencer at cspencer@ lclark.edu or Matt Michel
at michel@lclark.edu to offer your concerns and/or
observations.
Chair: Donna Maddux
The mission of the Student Life
committee is to coordinate events, programs, and activites
that enhance the law school experience, that is, to make
life more fun and enjoyable!). These activites are based on
feedback from the student population - so let us know what
you're thinking. E-mail Donna Maddux maddux@lclark.edu with
any ideas or suggestions. If you would like to be directly
involved, meet the committee Thursday, October 21, at 12:30
p.m. outside classroom 4 for a brief meeting. We hope to see
you there!
Chair: Alex Donahue
The Internet Committee has not yet
convened. Committee goals, formed at the October 3 SBA
retreat, include: reviewing, evaluating, and revamping the
SBA webpage, if needed; expanding the law-test e-mail
listserv into six lists (two for each year, restricted and
non-restricted); beginning to evaluate and critique the NWSL
website; developing new policies to govern student group
webpages; and working on replacing the pine e-mail system
with something better.
Chair: Alex Donahue
The Space Allocation Committee has not yet convened. Committee goals, formed at the October 3 SBA retreat, include: Limiting mailbox junk mail; ordering and installing new bulletin boards; improving protocols for apportionment of bulletin boards to student groups; and installing magazine and newspaper racks in the lounge.