EUGENE–What has good looks, brains and tons of soon-to-be tapped potential? The UO School of Law’s new William W. Knight Law Center.

The law school will start its second year in the new center when classes get underway on Wednesday, Aug. 23, and will be putting the new building through its paces with new or revitalized programs and enhanced student services.

"We are just beginning to understand the wonderful things that the new building will make possible for us to do," says Rennard Strickland, UO law school dean. "This year we’ll continue the process of utilizing the potential that this new facility gives us to be one of the nation’s premier law schools of the 21st century."

As part of realizing that potential, the law school began a new Appropriate Dispute Resolution (ADR) Program this summer. The new program will expand upon previous ADR offerings at the law school and educate students about various ways in which disputes can be resolved, including negotiation, mediation, arbitration and litigation.

In addition, the law school is revitalizing its Law and Entrepreneurship Center and hired a new director, Barbara Aldave, who was formerly the dean of St. Mary’s Law School in Texas. The center will hit the ground running with a fall symposium on intellectual property and piracy.

Smart use of technology built in to the infrastructure of the new building will help bring more of the "real world" to classrooms. Using live cable feeds and two-way video teleconferencing, students will be exposed "virtually" to experts from around the country and will participate in classes with students at other institutions. The law school also is working with local and federal courts to arrange live feeds of trials and hearings into classrooms.

Students will notice additional changes designed to enhance their learning experience.

"We’ll be working in a more hands-on ways with first-year students to help them make the transition into law school," says Richard Ludwick, the law school’s assistant dean for student affairs. "This year we’re offering four days of orientation the week prior to the start of classes to help students understand what to expect in law school and to teach them some study and work skills that will help them succeed."

The new voluntary student orientation program, Academic Choice for Excellence, runs Tuesday, Aug. 15, through Friday, Aug. 18, in Room 175 at the law center. Mandatory orientation begins at 8:30 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 21, in Room 175 with a student welcome from Dean Strickland and UO President Dave Frohnmayer. Orientation continues through Tuesday, Aug. 22, and classes begin Wednesday, Aug. 23.

This year’s entering class contains approximately 188 students, meeting the school’s target enrollment goal. With this year’s entering class, overall enrollment will be approximately 511 students of which 46 percent are women and 12 percent are minorities.

Of the law school’s 28 tenure-track faculty, more than half are women and minorities.

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