Santa Clara University

Dean's Message

Dear friends:

It is a pleasure to introduce this issue of the alumni magazine, formerly titled Et al. The title, Santa Clara Law, more clearly reflects the law school’s relationship with Santa Clara University and its geographic location. The new title more specifically describes the magazine as the publication for the law school and its alumni. In all other respects, the purposes and scope of the magazine remains the same: to report on the accomplishments and activities of the School of Law’s faculty, staff, students, and graduates to its alumni, friends, and the legal profession.

I also want to report on some significant activities at the law school since the last issue of this magazine. These and many other achievements and events are described more fully in the following pages. It has been, under any set of measurements, a very successful year for the School of Law, and some of the most noteworthy matters are as follows:

The School of Law was admitted to membership in the prestigious Order of the Coif, a national honorary society of the best law schools in the country.

We have matriculated an outstanding entering class, perhaps the strongest in the history of the School of Law, from the largest applicant pool in the School’s history.

Our graduates and friends contributed almost $4 million to the School of Law, a record amount of funds raised by the school, bringing us close to meeting our $12 million capital campaign goal.

Hundreds of Santa Clara Law graduates attended more than 30 alumni events sponsored last academic year from Seoul, Korea, to New York City, and these events gave me opportunities to meet and talk with graduates.

The Katharine and George Alexander Community Law Center was endowed by a substantial gift from the former dean and his wife. The Center is a model clinical education program that provides experiential learning opportunities for Santa Clara Law students and assists lowincome residents of Santa Clara County.

We are sad to report the loss of our esteemed faculty colleagues, Herman Levy and Edward Niland, Jr., and several graduates of the School of Law.

Professors Richard Berg and George Alexander retired from “active duty” as members of the law faculty, but I expect that they will continue to contribute to the life and success of the School of Law in other ways. As the following pages point out, we were able to attract several outstanding permanent and visiting professors of law to educate our students and continue the School’s academic progress.

I hope you enjoy learning more about this remarkable law school, its programs and its faculty, staff, students, and alumni. Please let us know how you think we are doing and how the School of Law is progressing. Your comments and suggestions are important to all of us as we continue to build the reputation and academic strength of Santa Clara University’s School of Law.

Sincerely,

Donald J. Polden

Dean