EUGENE–Students at the University of Oregon School of Law are enjoying a momentous start to the new academic year, which kicked off on Wednesday, Aug. 18. They are the first to attend classes in the new William W. Knight Law Center and can look forward to a visit from U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor for the center’s dedication ceremony.

O’Connor will address law students, faculty, alumni and other guests at a noon dedication ceremony on Wednesday, Sept. 15, in the rear courtyard at the new law center, 1515 Agate St. The talk is free and open to the public, but seating will be limited. A private reception will immediately follow the ceremony.

"Having Sandra Day O’Connor speak at the dedication of our new building will help set a tone for the kind of educational experience that we hope our students will have in the new law center," says Rennard Strickland, UO law school dean. "As the first woman on the U.S. Supreme Court, Justice O’Connor symbolizes the changes that are evolving in law and legal education. We are honored that she accepted our invitation."

During the dedication ceremony, Dean Strickland will confer upon O’Connor the law school’s highest honor, the Meritorious Service Award. The award is given by the UO law faculty in recognition of outstanding service to the administration of justice and legal education.

During her visit, O’Connor also will meet privately with UO law faculty and students.

President Ronald Reagan nominated O’Connor, 69, as associate justice of the United States Supreme Court, and after the U.S. Senate confirmed her appointment, O’Connor took the oath of office on Sept. 25, 1981, becoming the first woman to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court.

Previously, she was appointed to the Arizona Court of Appeals by Gov. Bruce Babbitt and served from 1979 to 1981, and was elected judge of the Maricopa County Superior Court, Phoenix, Ariz., where she served from 1975 to 1979. O’Connor also served as an Arizona state senator from 1969 to 1975, and as an Arizona assistant attorney general from 1965 to 1969.

Born in El Paso, Texas, O’Connor received her bachelor’s degree in 1950 from Stanford University, where she received her doctor of laws degree in 1952.

The dedication ceremony kicks off three days of activities for the public, students, law alumni and supporters, in celebration of the new law building. Among these is the free public lecture, "A European Civil Code: A Project in Progress," to be delivered by Guido Alpa, distinguished professor of law at the University of Rome Law School and the University of Genoa Law School. The lecture takes place from 4—5 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 17, in Room 184 of the law center.

A renovated Grayson Hall, which formerly housed the law school, will now provide classroom and office space for the UO College of Arts and Sciences.

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