From the Dean: Building on Our Legacy of Leadership

Welcome to a new version of your alumni magazine! As you may recall, our award-winning alumni magazine was formerly called Perspectives, a name it has borne since fall 2005. Prior to that, the magazine’s title was Law Alumni News. Today we rename the magazine Minnesota Law, to more closely align it with the Law School’s branding and better connect to our Law School community. After 13 years in the same format, the time also seemed right to freshen and modernize the look and feel of the magazine. We hope you like it, and, as always, we welcome your feedback.

These are exciting times at the Law School. During Spring Alumni Weekend, we launched the public phase of the Law School’s Driven to Lead Campaign, a historic $80 million fundraising effort. The money raised through the campaign will be used to:

  • create transformational programs and superior experiential learning opportunities for students;
  • recruit and retain world-class faculty members;
  • attract and provide an affordable education for promising and diverse lawyer-leaders for the next generation; and
  • secure the Law School’s place at the forefront of legal education.

The Law School is driven to make a powerful difference in the world, and this campaign is an invitation to our alumni and friends to come together in generosity and commitment to this work. Please visit our campaign website, www.law.umn.edu/driven, to learn how you can support this bold initiative. On the Driven website, you will also have the opportunity to view our recently released campaign video.

Of course, you don’t have to watch the video to see examples of the Law School’s rich legacy of leadership; they exist throughout this magazine. The cover story, for example, highlights alumni who have gone on to lead major corporations and nonprofit organizations as CEOs. These individuals found their education here at the Law School to be a major contributor to their success in becoming leaders. The article on the retirement of Professor David Weissbrodt, who in his 40 years at the Law School became a legend in the human rights field, demonstrates the caliber and impact of our faculty. One element of the incredible legacy that David leaves behind is the Human Rights Center, currently celebrating its 30th anniversary, which will ensure that the Law School continues its leadership position in the human rights field. The features on the Business Law Clinic and on amazing summer employment experiences demonstrate the kind of transformational learning opportunities that students get during their time here. Of course, there are many other instances of student, faculty, and alumni leadership to discover as you leaf through the pages of this issue.

Finally, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention one more of the exciting happenings at the Law School this fall—a visit from the chief justice of the United States, John G. Roberts Jr. As the featured guest for this year’s installment of the Stein Lecture series, Roberts spoke before a capacity crowd of around 3,000 at Northrop. While he was on campus, he also dropped in on a constitutional law class at Mondale Hall and took direct questions from some very lucky law students. Once-in-a-lifetime opportunities like this are just one of the many things that make our Law School so special.

Garry W. Jenkins signature

Garry W. Jenkins
Dean and William S. Pattee Professor of Law