20 Years of Ave Maria Law

Ave Maria School of Law is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. Founded by Thomas S. Monaghan in 1999, Ave Maria School of law focuses on an educational philosophy that emphasizes the moral foundations of the law, presents insights from the Catholic intellectual tradition, and encourages a broader perspective of the law and its role in society. Ave Maria Law has expanded and evolved over the last two decades, building a strong veteran population and developing veteranbased scholarships. In addition, the school has implemented a more rigorous curriculum to adapt to areas of the law that the bar exam targets. Most recently, Ave Maria Law opened the Cancro Family Wellness Center. The facility was developed as part of the school’s greater mind, body, spirit initiative. Addressing the importance of physical and mental health, the construction of the wellness center aligns with the school’s holistic approach of bringing reason, faith, and wellness into the legal education of its students. Over the next several years, Ave Maria School of Law plans to continue to provide excellence in law school education.

2000

• The Law School was licensed by the State of Michigan and classes began in the fall of 2000. The attention of many of the elite in the legal world, including Edwin Meese, Antonin

Scalia, Clarence Thomas, Kenneth Starr, and a host of others was focused on Ave Maria Law • Original teaching faculty included Judge Robert Bork, Richard

Myers, Mollie Murphy and others • Bernard Dobranski becomes the first President and Dean 2001 2002

Students and faculty attend the March for Life in Washington D.C., a tradition that continues each year Ave Maria Law was granted provisional accreditation by the American Bar Association. Ave Maria Lecturer: The Honorable Kenneth Starr

Twenty years ago, I knew we needed to create a law school like no other…one that would emphasize the critical importance of faith, reason, morals and ethics. The impact we have made is astounding and evident in extraordinary accomplishments of “20 Years our graduates, including the appointment of several federal judges. I want to express 2003 2004 my heartfelt and profound thanks to all who have so generously supported Ave Maria School of Law and thereby contributed to its successes. – Tom Monaghan”

• Ave Maria Law’s inaugural commencement and the highest bar passage rate in Michigan and above 90 percent nationwide. • His Eminence Edward Cardinal Egan donates a rare collection of 45 Canon Law books to the Law Library. Commencement Speaker: Samuel Dale Brownback, U. S. Senate Honorary Degree Recipients: The Honorable Samuel Dale Brownback, The Honorable Robert Heron Bork and Professor Charles Edward Rice Ave Maria Lecturer: Ambassador Michael Novak, George Frederick Jewett Scholar in Religion, Philosophy and Public Policy The Honorable James Leo Ryan

2005 2006

Ave Maria Law opened its first clinical program: Asylum and Immigrant Rights Law Clinic Commencement Speaker and Honorary Degree Recipient: The Honorable Clarence Thomas, Associate Justice, Supreme Court of the United States Ave Maria lecturer: The Honorable Edwin Messe, Ronald Reagan Distinguished Fellow in Public Policy, the Heritage Foundation

Ave Maria Law received full accreditation - in shortest possible time - from the America Bar Association Commencement Speaker and Honorary Degree Recipient: The Honorable R. James Nicholson, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Ave Maria Lecturer: The Honorable Antonin Scalia, Associate Justice, The Supreme Court of the United States Professors Jane Adolphe, Eugene Milhizer and Jim Sonne receive tenure while at Ave Maria Law Commencement Speaker: The Honorable Edith B. Clement, United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Honorary Degree Recipients: The Honorable Edith Brown Clement, The Honorable James Lane Buckley, The Honorable William Patrick Clark and 2007

“Our 20th anniversary is truly a testament to the hard work and dedication of so many who have preceded me. It has been a privilege to be part of Ave Maria Law’s growth and see our campus community’s efforts ultimately help the school grow and flourish through the years. – Kevin Cieply, President and Dean ”

On February 20, 2007, the Ave Maria Law Board of Governors announce the relocation of the Law School to Southwest Florida Commencement Speaker and Honorary Degree Recipient: The Honorable Janice Rogers Brown, United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit Ave Maria Lecturer: Reverend R. John Neuhaus, President of the Institute on Religion and Public Life, Editor in Chief - First Things

2008

2009

• Eugene R. Milhizer is named • Over the summer of 2009, Ave Maria Law moves from Ann Arbor to its new

Acting Dean home in Naples, Florida. Under the leadership of acting President and Dean • Commencement Speaker and Eugene R. Milhizer, Ave Maria Law obtains ABA acquiescence for the relocation.

Honorary Degree Recipient: The • ABA continues Ave Maria Law’s full accreditation following a comprehensive review

Honorable Christopher H. Smith, and sabbatical site visit. Ave Maria Law matriculates its largest class, over 200

U.S. House of Representatives students • Ave Maria Law is ranked Best Teaching Faculty by Princeton Review • Carl Anderson, Supreme Knight, Knights of Columbus is guest speaker for Opening Eugene R. Milhizer became the second President and Dean of Ave Maria Law in January 2010 Obtained Florida license to operate as an independent school Held first Commencement Ceremonies in Florida with The Honorable John Ellis “Jeb” Bush, Former Governor of the State of Florida, as the Commencement Speaker Honorary Degree Recipients: John Ellis Bush, Mother Mary Angelica, Bernard Dobranski and William F. Harrington Gala for the Law School • Inaugural St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Thomas More Oratorical Contest • Commencement Speaker and Honorary Degree Recipient: “Working with the students and watching them make that metamorphosis from layperson to lawyer is an incredibly rewarding experience. In addition, the advantage of working with such an outstanding and supportive Dean, faculty and staff cannot be overstated. We are a close-knit community here, and I believe that we are all the better for it. Ave Maria School of 2010 2011 Law is a special place with a special mission. I am extremely proud and blessed to be a part of this law school community. – Professor Kirk Miller”

His Eminence Adam Cardinal Maida

Ave Maria Law has its highest enrollment of nearly 500 students The Ave Maria International Law Journal was founded Professor Jane Adolphe invited by the Holy See to work with the Vatican Secretariat of State “Conversations With” Speaker events featuring Bret Baier and Senator Rick Santorum Annual Fall Gala featuring Karl L. Rove Commencement Speaker: The Honorable Marco Rubio, U.S. Senate Honorary Degree Recipients: Senator Marco Rubio and His Eminence Edward Cardinal Egan Ave Maria Lecturers: His Eminence Raymond Cardinal Burke, Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura and His Eminence Edward Cardinal Egan, Archbishop Emeritus of New York

I started working at Ave because a very good friend of mine who was teaching told me about an open position. I felt it was a good fit for me. I was excited about an atmosphere where I could talk about a more holistic “ 20 Years approach to being a lawyer. The school made an offer for both myself and 2012 2013 Professor Miller to come down when the school was in the process of moving to Naples. The rest is history. – Associate Dean Maureen Milliron”

The Reed Larson Professor of Labor Law was created with Professor John Raudabaugh acting as Chair. Moot Court Team reached the national finals Florida Governor Rick Scott visited campus Alum Royce Hood ‘12 launched The Law of Life Summit in Washington D.C. The Advanced Critical Thinking (ACT) Department was formed Commencement Speaker and Honorary Degree Recipient: Robert P. George, McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence, Princeton University 2014 Board of Governors and Faculty approve a comprehensive strategic plan. Princeton Review names Ave Maria Law the Most Conservative School in the country. Pre Law Magazine names Ave Maria Law the Most Devout Law School in the nation. Ave Maria Law hosts inaugural Estate Planning Conference Launch of inaugural 1L Summer Start program Kevin Cieply became the third President and Dean Federal Court grants Ave Maria Law a Preliminary Injunction from directly providing contraceptive and abortifacient coverage for its employees

Ave Maria Law filed suit in Federal Court regarding the HHS Mandate, represented by Alliance Defending Freedom’s Matt Bowman ‘03 Ave Maria Law Moot Court Competition named in honor of the late Judge Robert H. Bork Commencement Speaker: Carl A. Anderson, Supreme Knight, Knights of Columbus Honorary Degree Recipients: Carl A. Anderson, Patrick F. Adams and Monsignor Laurence E. Higgins Ave Maria Lecturer: The Honorable Martin L.C. Feldman,

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana

Faith & Reason Signature Event Series Launches with Dr. Charles Krauthammer and Senator Ted Cruz Ave Maria Law welcomes Speakers Dr. Henry Lee, John Bolton, Al Kresta, Ambassador Francis Rooney and Dr. Mario Enzler Queen of Heaven Ball features Ambassador Michael Novak Commencement Speaker: His Eminence Francis Cardinal Arinze, Prefect Emeritus and Nigerian Cardinal Honorary Degree Recipients: His Eminence Francis Cardinal Arinze and Thomas B. Garlick

“20162015 It was interesting to watch Ave Maria Law grow from nothing to what it is today. I was there when the law school was just an idea, and I’ve been lucky enough to watch it transform, unfold, and build throughout the years. – Associate Dean Kaye Castro”

• Ave Maria Law receives official recognition as a Catholic • National Jurist’s PreLaw Magazine ranked Ave Maria School Institute of Higher Learning by His Excellency, Most of Law the Number 1 Catholic law school in the nation Reverend Frank J. Dewane, Bishop of the Diocese of Venice for the Devout for a second time, and the Number 1 Most in Florida Diverse law school • Ave Maria Law purchases its Naples campus in the • The Ave Maria School of Law Men’s Softball Team became Vineyards, Naples, Florida the 2016 National Champs at the 33rd Annual Virginia Law • Ave Maria Law receives #1 Bar passage rate in the state of School National Softball Invitational Florida for February first time bar exam takers • The Edward Cardinal Egan Conference Room was named in • Ave Maria Law receives $1 million dollar gift from an memory of His Eminence Edward Cardinal Egan, Archbishop anonymous donor to launch the Capital Campaign. Emeritus of New York, a member of our Board of Trustees • Honorary Degree Recipients: General Peter Pace, Richard L. and a devoted friend of the law school. Klaas and Dean Emeritus Eugene R. Milhizer • The Third Annual Estate Planning Conference was hosted • Commencement Speaker: General Peter Pace off campus this year at The Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort with great success • Ave Maria Lecturer: Dr. John Finnis, internationally known legal scholar, author and Professor of Law and Legal Philosophy Emeritus at the University of • This year’s Honorary Degree recipients celebrated at Commencement included: Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., D.D., Lou Holtz, Karl Keating, and Mr. and Mrs. Vincent Von Zwehl Oxford • 2008 College Football Hall of Fame Coach, Speaker, Author, and Retired ESPN Studio Analyst Lou Holtz served as Commencement Speaker • Our law library was named the Veterans Memorial Law Library and dedicated on December 7 to honor our nation’s veterans. Founders of the Veterans Memorial Law Library were honored at the dedication “We were teaching at the University of Detroit Mercy Law School in the 1990s. In the years after Pope St. John Paul II’s apostolic exhortation on Catholic universities (Ex Corde Ecclesiae), there was a lot of discussion at that time about the nature of

Catholic universities and Catholic law schools. Eventually in 1998, we joined with several colleagues there (Steve Safranek, Joe Falvey, Laura Hirschfeld, and Michael

Kenney) and proposed the idea of a new Catholic law school to Tom Monaghan. In light of the cultural ferment of that era, we all thought there was a need for a law school that emphasized academic excellence and professionalism and that did so in light of the wisdom of the Catholic intellectual tradition. We agreed to leave Detroit and moved to Ann Arbor in 1999 to work on planning and beginning Ave Maria School of Law.

We taught in Ann Arbor for almost a decade and then moved to Naples when the law school moved there in 2009. – Professors Mollie Murphy & Richard Myers”

2017

2nd Annual Campus March for Life Signature Event with Pulitzer Prize winning author Dr. Charles Krauthammer Tom Monaghan’s 80th Birthday Celebration: March 25, 2017 4th Annual Estate Planning Conference: April 28, 2017 Honorary Degree recipients for 2017 included the Reverend Mitch Pacwa, SJ, Joseph Ricketts, the Founder of TD Ameritrade, and Ambassador Michael Novak (Posthumously) Commencement Speakers for 2017 included the Reverend Mitch Pacwa, SJ, and Andrea Phillips, Class of 2017 Award-winning, New York Times bestselling international investigative author Dr. Edwin Black was once again featured as a guest lecturer at the law school 2nd Annual Veterans Memorial Celebration 2019 2nd Annual Monsignor Laurence Higgins Respect for Life Celebration 4th Annual Campus March for Life Profiles in Ethical Leadership Signature Event with Steve Forbes, Chairman and Editor-in-Chief, Forbes Media; St. Luke Award Recipients, Tom Golisano and Patrick Adams Culture of Life Symposium – William Hurlbut, MD, Adjunct Professor and Senior Research Scholar in Neurobiology at the Stanford Medical School Commencement Speakers for 2019 included Matt Birk, Super Bowl champion and 15-year veteran of the NFL and Eve Kosciuszko, Class of 2019 Florida Bar CLE and Wellness Luncheon Award-winning, New York Times best-selling international investigative author Dr. Edwin Black was once again featured as a guest lecturer at the law school 2nd Annual State Appellate Argument 2018

First Annual Monsignor Laurence Higgins Respect for Life Celebration featuring Dr. Alveda King American activist, author and niece of Dr. Martin Luther King 3rd Annual Campus March for Life Signature Event with The Honorable Newt Gingrich: February 17, 2018 National Jurist’s PreLaw Magazine ranked Ave Maria School of Law the Number 1 Catholic law school in the nation for the Devout for a third time President of IndieCollect and Adjunct Professor at Columbia University Sandra Schulberg presented Nuremberg: Its Lesson for Today 5th Annual Estate Planning Conference Honorary Degree Recipients for 2018 included Kevin Baine, George Weigel and the Ambassador to the Holy See, Callista Gingrich Commencement Speakers for 2018 included George Weigel and Kelly Sifford, Class of 2018 1st Annual “Profiles in Ethical Leadership” Speaker Series First Annual Day of Giving 3rd Annual Veterans Memorial Celebration and Fitness

Complex Groundbreaking

Profiles in Ethical Leadership Signature Event with Bret Baier, Fox News Channel’s political anchor and anchor of “Special Report with Bret Baier,” together with Daniel Krauthammer, economic consultant, analyst and son of the late Charles Krauthammer

St. Luke Award for Distinguished Philanthropy Recipients, Tatiana and Peter Cancro and Lavern Norris Gaynor Honorary Degree Recipients for 2019 included Bret Baier, Matt Birk and Samuel Lavergne