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1956-1984: Development of the Modern Law School 1985-Present: Continuing the Tradition |
1985 to Present: Continuing the Tradition Six months after assuming the position as dean, Charles W. Barrow presided over the dedication of the new Advocacy Wing of the law school, which was completed in 1985. The addition to the law school and the renovation of the Morrison Constitution Hall and Leon Jaworski Wing would be the last improvements made to the law school facility. Changes in the leadership of the law school took place in 1991, when Barrow retired as dean after serving from 1984 to 1991. In 1991, Bradley J.B. Toben became the eleventh dean of the law school. Leah Jackson was named as associate dean the same year. Both have remained in their positions for the past decade as the law school prepared for some of the most significant changes in the law school's history. A number of long-time faculty members retired from full-time teaching from the mid 1980s to early 1990s, including Edwin P. Horner, Angus S. McSwain, Jr., Hulen Wendorf, Peeler Williams, Jr., and John Wilson. Many of the current law faculty arrived between 1986 and 1993, including Gerald Powell (1986), Brian Serr (1986), Jackson (1989), William Underwood (1990), Melissa Essary (1990), and Elizabeth Miller (1991). Since 1996, additional faculty members have been added, including Larry Bates (1996), Brandon Quarles (1998), Mark Osler (2000), Matt Cordon (2000), Jeremy Counseller (2003), and Rory Ryan (2004). In November, 1992, the law school announced a major restructuring of its highly-acclaimed, practice-oriented curriculum. Among these changes included a requirement that students complete courses in the upper-level curriculum in a prescribed sequence to provide structure and organization to the entire program; a restructuring of upper level electives into formal areas of concentration, allowing students to focus their study in an area of interest; and the restructuring of the first-year writing program, previously known as the Legal Methods program, into the Legal Analysis, Research, and Communication program. Numerous publications have ranked Baylor's program among the nation's elite, particularly due to its dedication to teaching and its practice-oriented mission. In 1999, the U.S. News & World Report ranked Baylor in the "top tier" of American law schools. Throughout much of its history, Baylor has maintained the highest bar passage rate in the state of Texas, a testament to the quality of instruction and training at the law school. In order to maintain the law school's stature, the faculty and administration recognized that the Morrison Constitution Hall and its additions would not be sufficient to meet the needs of legal education in the 21st Century. In 1992, the school began plans to build a new facility, one that could incorporate current and new technologies as well as allow Baylor to maintain its reputation as a teaching facility. Six years later, the dream started to become a reality when the school announced that Walter and Sheila Umphrey of Beaumont, Harold and Carol Ann Nix of Daingerfield, and John Eddie and Sheridan Williams of Houston had made a collective gift of $20 million to the law school. Groundbreaking for the new $32 million Sheila and Walter Umphrey Law Center was held in 1999 on the banks of the Brazos River. Additional major gifts were provided in 2000 by Gerald and Diane Haddock of Fort Worth, as well as the M.D. Anderson Foundation of Houston, which had been a major contributor in previous efforts to improve the law school facility. The new Umphrey Law Center is one of the most technologically-innovative law school facilities in the nation, providing network access throughout the entire law school and providing advanced audio/visual capabilities. The dramatic increase in technological capability coupled with Baylor's well-established formula for success has allowed Baylor to introduce a new chapter to an already glorious history. |