MEMORANDUM 03-44

The Executive Committee has found that the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, William S. Boyd School of Law has fulfilled and is 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 it be admitted to membership.

This item has been placed on the agenda of the first meeting of the House of Representatives on Saturday, January 3, 2004, beginning at 5:15 pm during the Annual Meeting in Washington, DC.

In recommending that the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, William S. Boyd School of Law be admitted to membership in the Association, the Executive Committee considered the report of the site evaluation team, including Professor Elliott Milstein, American University, Chair; Professor Charles Calleros, Arizona State University; Professor Marcella David, University of Iowa; Professor Joyce Saltalamachia, New York Law School; and Beverly Tarpley, Esq., Abilene, Texas. The Executive Committee also considered the correspondence and comments of Dean Morgan in his appearance before the committee, and the affirmative recommendation of the Membership Review Committee.

The William S. Boyd School of Law of the University of Nevada Las Vegas, opened in August of 1998, and is the only law school in the state. It was created by an act of the legislature in 1997 after years of debate within the state over whether to establish a law school. It achieved full accreditation from the ABA at the earliest possible time, less than five years after it opened. The dean of the law school is Richard Morgan, who has been dean since its founding. The law school has 37 tenured and tenure-track professors.

The site evaluation team found that the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, William S. Boyd School of Law "has managed, in a relatively short period of time, to create a self-governing intellectual community of committed scholars and teachers eager to build a new institution and to provide service to their new home state, to its residents, to the legal profession and to the academy."

The Executive Committee noted that the school has developed a strong and diverse faculty with a demonstrated commitment to teaching and scholarship. It has demonstrated success in gaining the strong support of the university, the state and the community, and has a strong commitment to community service. The law school benefits from the strong support of University President Carol Harter.

For more information on the law school, refer to its web site: http://www.law.unlv.edu/

cc:    Executive Committee
        Membership Review Committee
        Deans of Service-Fee Schools
        Site Evaluation Team
        Dean Morgan

Association of American Law Schools Home  Deans' Memos