Cupcakes and cheer marked an afternoon gathering in the law school’s Cemala Foundation Commons where Ƶ President Connie Ledoux Book praised Ƶ Law for its pursuit of excellence in legal studies.
Ƶ Law commemorated its crystal anniversary on Tuesday with a celebration featuring remarks by Ƶ President Connie Ledoux Book.
Dozens of students, professors, and staff gathered in the Cemala Foundation Commons on September 14, 2021, as Book praised the law school community for its many accomplishments since welcoming the charter class in 2006.
“Ƶ is the kind of school that is in a constant, perpetual state of working to dream and build more excellence,” she said, “and this law school is an example of that.”
After an introduction by Ƶ Law Dean Luke Bierman, Book highlighted several achievements for Ƶ Law over the past 15 years, including:
- The adoption of a 2.5-year, highly experiential curriculum, with a residency-in-practice for every student, that has led to strong performances on the bar exam and corresponding career placement success;
- Significant improvements in recruiting a diverse student body and the law school’s strategic focus on growing similar representation on its faculty;
- A reduction in average student loan debt at graduation, helping to make an Ƶ Law education more affordable for students;
- Most recently, the largest class to ever enroll at Ƶ Law matriculated in August with 171 students representing more than 20 states and more than 80 undergraduate alma maters.
“At this moment, and at this milestone, it’s important to honor the work that it took to get us here. Rites of passage are important,” Book said. “But it’s important to keep working ahead, and the team at the law school is imagining what’s next, and it’s through that vision and pursuit of excellence that I’m confident Ƶ Law will … soon celebrate 30 years of achievement.”
Ƶ Law’s celebration, which included cupcakes for everyone in attendance, followed news a day earlier that Ƶ had been ranked #1 for excellence in undergraduate teaching in the latest U.S. News & World Report rankings.
In the overall National Universities category, Ƶ is ranked #83 and #51 among private universities based on strong scores in several areas of the “Best Colleges” methodology.