KU Law Magazine is published twice a year for alumni and friends of the University of Kansas School of Law. Green Hall, 1535 W. 15th St. Lawrence, KS 66045-7608 785.864.4550 | F: 785.864.5054 law.ku.edu DEAN Stephen Mazza EDITOR & DESIGNER Mindie Paget kulaws@ku.edu | 785.864.9205 CONTRIBUTORS Professor Martin Dickinson Nicole Krambeer Mike Krings Emily Sharp PHOTOS Kelsey Kimberlin Mindie Paget Earl Richardson, L’08 University Archives PRINTING Allen Press, Lawrence, KS
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LETTER FROM THE DEAN Martin Dickinson and I have a few things in common. We’ve served together on the KU Law faculty. We’ve had the great honor of leading this institution, in separate eras, as its dean. And we share expertise in tax law, a subject I think we can all agree spawns the most riveting courses taught at this school. All kidding aside, I’ve considered Professor Dickinson a trusted mentor for decades. When he offered to reflect on his 48-year tenure at KU Law, I gratefully accepted, knowing the resulting article would provide a unique perspective on the school’s evolution. Most students experience law school in three-year increments marked by intense study and a focus on graduating, passing the bar and launching their careers. As you’ll read in his cover story, Dickinson taught 4,000 such students on their journeys through KU Law. Needless to say, he is qualified to speak with authority about the big picture. And that’s what I find most fascinating about his account — how all the moments stitched together illustrate the values and trajectory of the University of Kansas School of Law. It’s an interesting exercise attempting to connect the dots, for example, from our founding by Populist Dean James Woods Green, who welcomed students of all ethnicities and genders, to our concerted efforts beginning in the late 1960s to actively recruit students of color and help open the legal profession to the influx of women choosing law school, to the success of the bold advocates and leaders we proudly count among our alumni today. Through burning buildings, economic recessions and declining state funding, KU Law has, as Dickinson writes, “demonstrated an impressive capacity to respond to changes in Kansas, the nation, the world and the legal profession while continuing to honor its rich tradition.” Your law school experiences — like the ones recounted in this issue by Judge Jean Shepherd, Tim Connell, Annie Browning Wilson, Rusty Leffel, and Thomas Vaughn – are part of that tradition. And KU Law’s staying power is fueled in no small measure by your unflagging support. When you mentor current students, hire new graduates, share your expertise as a guest lecturer, serve on the Board of Governors, or contribute to a scholarship fund, we all rise together. Because of your generosity, we continue to surge past our $20 million fundraising goal for Far Above — up by $6.5 million with six months still remaining in the capital campaign. That total is built with gifts from 3,464 donors. If my calculations are correct — and I am a tax professor — we just need 536 more donors to reach the number of students Professor Dickinson taught over 48 years at KU Law. Let’s aspire to connect those dots.
Stephen W. Mazza Dean and Professor of Law