The Executive Committee has found that the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law and St. Thomas University School of Law have fulfilled and are capable in the future of fulfilling the obligations of membership in the Association as stated in the Bylaws and Executive Committee Regulations. The Committee therefore recommends that they be admitted to membership.

This item has been placed on the agenda of the second meeting of the House of Representatives on Saturday, January 6, 2001, beginning at 5:15 p.m. during the Annual Meeting in San Francisco.

University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law

In recommending that the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law be admitted to membership in the Association, the Executive Committee considered the report of the site evaluation team, including Dean Nina S. Appel, Loyola University Chicago School of Law, Chair; Andrew G.T. Moore II, Esq., Wasserstein, Perella & Co., Inc.; Dean Nancy B. Rapoport, University of Nebraska School of Law; Professor Arturo L. Torres, Gonzaga University School of Law; and Professor Stephanie J. Willbanks, Vermont School of Law. It also considered the correspondence and statement before the committee of Dean Donald J. Polden, and the affirmative recommendation of the Membership Review Committee.

The University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law commenced operations in 1962 when (then) Memphis State University secured approval of the Tennessee State Board of Education to start a new law school. The Supreme Court of Tennessee granted accreditation to the school of law in 1962. The American Bar Association awarded provisional approval in 1965 and full accreditation in 1968.

The current Dean of the law school is Donald J. Polden, who joined the school as Dean on July 1, 1993. Dean Polden succeeded Dean Nicholas L. White who served as interim dean from 1992-1993 and as dean from 1977 to 1984, and Dean Frederick Davis who led the law school from 1987 to 1992. The law school also enjoys the active support of Dr. Ralph Faudree, University President, and Dr. J. Ivan Legg, University Provost.

The University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law has a total student enrollment of 444 students and operates a day-division only program with 95% of students attending on a full-time basis and 5% attending as part-time students. The student body includes approximately 12.5% minority group students and 46% women students. There are 23 full-time faculty members. The school pursues polices which reflect a commitment to equality of opportunity in legal education.

The site evaluation team found that the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law has a faculty that is both dedicated and energetic, with a strong commitment to teaching and the law school. The effectiveness of the teaching is reflected in successful bar passage and employment rates for its graduates. The scholarly productivity of the faculty has grown steadily and been sustained, and the team found an excitement about the scholarly mission of the law school. The administration, faculty, and students are fully committed to pursuing the mission of the law school and enhancing its contribution to the legal profession.

St. Thomas University School of Law

In recommending that the St. Thomas University School of Law be admitted to membership in the Association, the Executive Committee considered the report of the site evaluation team, including Professor Paul Marcus, College of William and Mary, Marshall-Wythe School of Law, Chair; The Honorable Paul A. Magnuson of the United States District Court for Minnesota; Professor George Martinez of Southern Methodist University School of Law; Professor Veryl V. Miles of the Catholic University of America School of Law; and Professor Robin Mills of Emory University School of Law. It also considered the correspondence and statement before the committee of Dean John Makdisi, and the affirmative recommendation of the Membership Review Committee.

St. Thomas University was founded in 1961 and came under the sponsorship of the Catholic Archdiocese of Miami in 1988. It is located on a 140-acre campus in the northern part of the Miami metropolitan area. The Law School was founded in 1984 as the Moreley Law Center and is located on the main campus of the university. St. Thomas is the only Catholic law school in the southeastern part of the United States; its mission statement reflects that the law school embraces the values and ethics of its religious tradition. The Law School was granted provisional accreditation by the ABA in 1988 and full accreditation in 1995.

John Makdisi is the current dean of the law school, having begun his tenure in August 1999. His immediate predecessor as dean was Professor Daniel J. Morrisey, who now serves as a member of the law school faculty. The law school also enjoys the active support of the President of the University, Monsignor Franklyn M. Casale.

Student enrollment at St. Thomas University School of Law for fall 1999 was 487 students and included approximately 45% women and 48% minority group members. The law school's J.D. program is offered only as a full-time day program. There are 32 full-time faculty members, including 31% women and 23% minority group members. The law school has made a strong effort to encourage the production of first-rate scholarship and these efforts have generated impressive results. The School of Law occupies physical facilities that were built in 1984 and comprehensively renovated in recent years. The facilities are attractive and well adapted to the educational program. The School of Law has a special commitment to training lawyers who are members of Hispanic and African-American communities that too often have been underserved by the bar.

The site evaluation team reported that St. Thomas University School of Law has successfully established a program that "emphasizes a small student body and faculty deeply committed to exploring broad ethical and moral questions within the legal system." The law school was found to have an administrative team that is competent and enthusiastic, a faculty described as committed to teaching and fully involved in governance of the law school, and a student body that is remarkably diverse, talented, and committed to the law school.

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Deans of Service-Fee Paid Schools
Executive Committee
Membership Review Committee

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