Insight Into Academia Honors Stetson Inns for Excellence in Innovation
Stetson University College of Law’s Stetson Inns program was recognized with the 2026 Excellence in Innovation Award: Law Schools award, a new honor from Insight Into Academia magazine. The award honors the Stetson Inns program for its innovative approach to student orientation experience, which has been proven to help students to start building community and confidence during their first days at Stetson Law.
The nation’s longest-running publication dedicated to promoting advancement in higher education, Insight highlights initiatives that lead the way in shaping industry best practices. This new award celebrates law schools that demonstrate a bold, effective approach to rethinking legal education. Through transformative programs and initiatives that reflect how students learn as well as the day-to-day life of law firms, these schools are taking a fresh approach to curriculum, experiential learning, technology and AI integration, access to legal education, professional pathways, and more to better serve the evolving needs of students and meet the rapidly shifting demands and expectations of the legal profession.
Inspired by the British Inns of Court tradition as well as the broader culture of Stetson Law, Stetson Inns is a dynamic reimagining of traditional law school orientation programming.
“The Stetson Inns are where our students explore and begin to develop the competence, candor, diligence, and professional judgement that are essential to success in the legal profession,” said Stetson Law Associate Dean for Assessment and Professional Engagement Anne Mullins, an architect of the program. “We are grateful to Insight into America for recognizing the thought and planning that has gone into this signature program.”
Insight Into Academia magazine selected the Stetson Inns program because it meets students where they are, it is future-focused, and it has created a measurable impact on students since it launched in fall of 2023.
It invites first-year students to acclimate to law school life in smaller groups led by a faculty mentor (referred to as a “Bencher”) and supported by upper-level students.
Through candid discussions, guest speakers, and other events, students are encouraged to explore professional identity, long-term career goals, and strategies for dealing with the stresses of law school and life as a lawyer. In fall of 2025, the program added a session on ethical use of artificial intelligence in law school and the legal profession, which was led by Dr. Kirsten K. Davis, a Stetson Law professor who has led the national conversation about AI use in law schools and the legal profession.
Students have had an overwhelmingly positive response to the program.
According to an informal survey taken after the initial implementation of Stetson Inns, 97 percent of students said they “started building community during orientation” – up from 54 percent in prior years. Meanwhile, 94 percent of students said they had at least one upper-level student they could reach out to, and 96 percent said there was at least one faculty, staff, or administration member they felt comfortable reaching out to. In prior years, those percentages were 55 and 33 percent, respectively.
Stetson Law will be featured in the July/August 2026 issue of Insight Into Academia magazine.
“The Insight Into Academia Excellence in Innovation Award: Law Schools is a prestigious national honor recognizing law schools driving innovation in legal education,” said Holly Mendelson, co-owner and publisher of Insight Into Academia magazine. “This selective recognition celebrates programs defined by forward-thinking design and measurable impact—initiatives that raise the standard and advance the field.”
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