EUGENE–It’s out with the old and in with the new for the University of Oregon School of Law when it celebrates Spring commencement on Sunday, May 16. That’s when students of the law school’s final class of the 20th century will graduate and celebrate their fete in a brand new building.

Judge Susan P. Graber, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, will deliver the keynote address to this historic class during the commencement ceremonies.

The UO law school ceremony, honoring approximately 150 graduates and open to the public, will begin at 1 p.m. in the Silva Concert Hall at the Hult Center for the Performing Arts, One Eugene Centre. A reception will follow in the commons area of the UO of School of Law in the new William W. Knight Law Center, 1515 Agate St., pending completion of construction.

The commencement reception marks the first official function in the new 138,000-square-foot law center. The move from Grayson Hall, the current law facility, will begin on May 24, classes for the next academic year begin on Aug. 18, and a formal dedication ceremony for the new building is planned for Sept. 16. A renovated Grayson Hall will house classroom and office space for the College of Arts and Sciences.

Construction on the law center began in June of 1997. The facility houses more classrooms, flexible study and meeting areas and double the law library space than in the current building. The additional space can store the library’s entire collection, one-third of which has been stored elsewhere on campus. The new facility also offers state-of-the art connectivity to on-line information data bases, on-line classes and live video teleconferencing.

The design and construction cost of the center, approximately $25 million, is privately financed with $10.3 million from the sale of state bonds and $15.3 million from gifts and grants. The new UO law building is named in honor of 1932 law school graduate William W. Knight, whose son, Philip Knight, committed $10 million to the law school building project.

"This is a momentous occasion for our school, our students and the public," says Rennard Strickland, dean of the UO School of Law. "We are entering a new era in legal education and are fortunate to do so in a new, state-of-the-art facility which will better serve our students and the citizens of Oregon. We are delighted that Justice Graber will help us celebrate this turning point and share her experience and insights with our new graduates."

The law school’s graduating class selected Graber as this year’s commencement speaker. In addition, the ceremony will include an address by Joel Corcoran, president of the Law Student Bar Association. Also speaking will be Ethan Knight, who was selected by the third-year student body as the graduating class speaker, and Margaret Paris, associate professor of law.

Graber was appointed to the bench of the U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, in 1998. She served from 1990-98 as an Oregon Supreme Court justice and from 1988-90 as a justice on the Oregon Court of Appeals where she was presiding judge of Department 3 from 1989-90. She was a pro tem District Court Judge from 1983-88, an arbitrator for Circuit Court from 1985-88 and a mediator for U.S. District Court from 1986-88.

Previously, she worked with the law firms of Stoel Rives Boley Jones and Grey; Taft Stettinius and Hollister; and Jones Gallegos Snead and Wertheim. She served as an assistant attorney general in New Mexico from 1972-74.

Graber serves on the Judicial Disability Task Force of the Judicial Council of the Ninth Circuit, as a master of the Gus J. Solomon American Inn of Court, and as chair of the American Bar Association Committee on Appellate Practice. Previously, she served as co-chair of the Oregon Supreme Court-Oregon State Bar Task Force on Gender Fairness; as chair of the Oregon Appellate Judges Association Education Committee; as president of the Oregon Appellate Judges Association; and on numerous other committees.

Her honors include the 1998 Legal Citizen of the Year award and the 1986 Founder’s Award for pro bono service from the Northwest Women’s Law Center.

Graber received her juris doctorate degree from Yale University School of Law in 1972 and her bachelor of arts degree from Wellesley College in 1969.

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