Contact Brandi Palmer
Manager of Media Relations
727-562-7381 [email protected]
Legal writing scholar Bryan A. Garner. Click for high-resolution image.
Bryan A. Garner, a nationally known legal writing expert, will address Stetson University College of Law graduates May 15 in Gulfport.
Garner serves as editor in chief of Black’s Law Dictionary and has authored many leading works on legal style, including A Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage, The Elements of Legal Style, The Redbook: A Manual on Legal Style, The Winning Brief, and The Winning Oral Argument. His latest books are Making Your Case: The Art of Persuading Judges, co-written with U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, and Garner on Language and Writing, an anthology published by the American Bar Association.
The 284 graduates include 23 students who are candidates for the J.D./ M.B.A. dual degree. Seven students are candidates for the LL.M. degree in Elder Law, and 13 are candidates for the LL.M. degree in International Law.
Among the outstanding graduates are:
• Stephanie Broad, who interned with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and was honored by NOAA for bringing together attorneys, scientists and policymakers to enforce construction of a fish passage at a dam in the southeastern U.S. She also recently received the Florida Bar City, County and Local Government Section Law Student Award for her work as recent developments editor on the Stetson Law Review.
• Sarah Alexandra Cohen, who interned with Ugandan Supreme Court Justice John Tsekooko and represented Stetson in the 2010 Willem Vis Moot in Hong Kong, where the team won the Fali Nariman Award for the Best Respondent’s Memorandum.
• Erik Detlefsen, editor in chief of the Stetson Law Review who also served on the College of Law’s award-winning Willem Vis team in Hong Kong and who will be joining the Minneapolis law firm of Dorsey & Whitney in January 2011.
• Rickisha Hightower-Singletary, Stetson’s first Public Service Scholarship recipient, who was also a Florida Bar Foundation Fellowship recipient, Guardian Ad Litem, and Public Service Fellow.
• Katelyn Knaak, an outstanding advocate who helped her team win the National Trial Competition in March, beating Stanford in the final round; she was also on the winning team at the 2009 National Civil Trial Competition in Los Angeles.
Contact Brandi Palmer
Manager of Media Relations
727-562-7381 [email protected]
Dean Darby Dickerson with Beverly Ledbetter and Professor Peter Lake. Click for high-resolution image.
Beverly Ledbetter and Barbara A. Lee, Ph.D., both received prestigious awards from Stetson University College of Law’s Center for Excellence in Higher Education Law and Policy at the 31st Annual National Conference on Law and Higher Education.
Ledbetter, vice president and general counsel of Brown University, received this year’s Facilitator Award, and Lee, a professor and former dean of Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations, received the William A. Kaplin Award at the conference on Feb. 21 in Orlando, Fla.
In addition to her role at Brown University, Ledbetter lectures frequently on higher education issues including employment, civil rights, sexual and racial harassment, and federal regulatory compliance, and is regarded as an expert in the field of higher education law. She is on the faculty of the management development program at Harvard University and has been an adjunct professor at Harvard.
Professor William A. Kaplin with Professor Barbara A. Lee, Professor Peter Lake and Dean Darby Dickerson. Click for high-resolution image.
Lee is a professor of human resource management at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. She has previously directed the Center for Women and Work and chaired the department of Human Resource Management at Rutgers. Lee has made numerous presentations on topics including faculty with disabilities, educational freedom and faculty rights, and comparative higher education law in the U.S. and in the U.K. She has also co-authored books on higher education law with Professor William A. Kaplin, the Kaplin Award’s namesake.
Stetson created the Facilitator Award to honor educators who embody the values and principles articulated in The Rights and Responsibilities of the Modern University, co-authored by professors Robert Bickel and Peter Lake. The Kaplin Award honors outstanding scholarly work related to higher education law and policy, and is named for William A. Kaplin, award-winning education and constitutional law professor, leading book author in the field, and distinguished professorial lecturer and senior fellow in the Center for Excellence in Higher Education Law and Policy at Stetson.
To learn more about upcoming higher education programs at Stetson, please visit the Center for Excellence in Higher Education Law and Policy’s Web site at http://www.law.stetson.edu/excellence/HigherEd/ or call 727-562-7392.
Contact Stetson University
Special Events
386-822-7453 [email protected]
Inauguration/Homecoming 2010 weekend to include many public events
Wendy B. Libby, Ph.D. Click for high-resolution image.
The public is invited to join the Stetson University community for the Inauguration of the university’s ninth president, Dr. Wendy B. Libby, during Homecoming 2010 weekend, March 18 to 21.
The formal installation of the new president will be at 11 a.m. Saturday, March 20, in the Edmunds Center, 143 E. Pennsylvania Ave. Beginning at 10:40 a.m., Stetson faculty members, administrators and trustees will join with delegates representing dozens of colleges and universities throughout the United States for a procession from Stetson’s main gates north on Woodland Boulevard to Pennsylvania Avenue. The section of Woodland Boulevard (U.S. 17-92) that runs through Stetson’s campus will be closed to automobile traffic briefly.
The public is also invited to the Mainstreet Block Party – An Inauguration Celebration from 7:30 to 11 p.m. Saturday, March 20, along West Indiana Avenue in downtown DeLand. Other public events during the weekend are listed below.
Libby became Stetson’s ninth president in July 2009. It is customary for college presidents to be inaugurated some months after they take the helm, and Libby requested that her inauguration be scheduled during Homecoming so that alumni could attend.
Libby has a broad career in higher education and private industry, most recently serving as president of Stephens College in Columbia, Mo., from 2003 to 2009. A native of Brooklyn, N.Y., she earned her doctorate in Educational Administration from the University of Connecticut. She has already embarked on a mission to build on Stetson’s long tradition of academic excellence and commitments to values and service and to unite Stetson’s four locations as “one university.”
“I’ve had the privilege of getting to know Dr. Wendy Libby over the past few months. Needless to say, I’ve been impressed with her in many ways. Wendy will be a dynamic and innovative leader for the university, and she will develop new, mutually beneficial partnerships with our community,” said DeLand Mayor Bob Apgar. “The city is excited to welcome alumni and friends to DeLand for her Inauguration and Homecoming. This will be a historic event as Stetson installs its first woman president, and I encourage everyone in our community to show their support for Wendy and Stetson by joining in the celebration.”
Four days of Inauguration and Homecoming 2010 activities are planned for alumni and the public, including reunions for seven class years back to the Class of 1955. Events that are open to the public include:
Friday, March 19:
Art Exhibition, “Oscar Bluemner: Art and Identity Between the World Wars,” free, 11 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Friday, March 19, Hand Art Center, 139 E. Michigan Ave.
Alumni and Faculty Author Book-Signing, free, books will be available for sale, 3:30-4:30 p.m. Friday, March 19, duPont-Ball Library, 134 E. Minnesota Ave.
Men’s Hatter Baseball vs. Florida Gulf Coast University, preceded at 6:15 p.m. by announcement of the Homecoming Court, 6:30 p.m. Friday, March 19, Melching Field at Conrad Park, 555 S. Woodland Blvd. Tickets: $7 for general admission; $8 for chairback seating, www.gohatters.com.
School of Music Inauguration Concert, free, 8 p.m. Friday, March 19, Lee Chapel in Elizabeth Hall, 421 N. Woodland Blvd.
Saturday, March 20:
Run Around Stetson 5K, walk/run to raise money for Stetson alumni programs, 8 a.m. Saturday, March 20; register at 7:30 a.m. at the Edmunds Center, 143 E. Pennsylvania Ave. $10 to participate.
Inauguration ceremony, free, 11 a.m. Saturday, March 20, Edmunds Center, 143 E. Pennsylvania Ave. Procession along Woodland Boulevard to begin at 10:40 a.m.
Men’s Hatter Baseball vs. Florida Gulf Coast University, 1 p.m. Saturday, March 20, Melching Field at Conrad Park, 555 S. Woodland Blvd. Tickets: $7 for general admission; $8 for chairback seating, www.gohatters.com.
Art Exhibition, “Oscar Bluemner: Art and Identity Between the World Wars,” free, 1-4 p.m. Saturday, March 20, Hand Art Center, 139 E. Michigan Ave.
School of Music Showcase Concert, free, featuring performances by student chamber ensembles, 2-3:30 p.m. Saturday, March 20, Lee Chapel in Elizabeth Hall, 421 N. Woodland Blvd.
Family Day and Homecoming Open House at the Gillespie Museum, free, 2-4 p.m. Saturday, March 20, Gillespie Museum, 234 E. Michigan Ave.
Reptile Roundup, free, an open house featuring a biology showcase and activities centered around the Rinker Environmental Learning Center and adjacent community garden, 2-4 p.m. Saturday, March 20, Rinker Environmental Learning Center, 230 E. Michigan Ave.
Men’s Hatter Baseball vs. Florida Gulf Coast University, 4:30 p.m. Saturday, March 20, Melching Field at Conrad Park, 555 S. Woodland Blvd. Tickets: $7 for general admission; $8 for chairback seating, www.gohatters.com.
Mainstreet Block Party: An Inauguration Celebration, free, featuring live music by Motion City Soundtrack and Frontiers: The Journey Tribute Band, a Classic Car Show, children’s area, crowning of the Homecoming King and Queen, and trophy presentations to the winners of the Legacy Cup and Football Challenge, 7:30-11 p.m. on West Indiana Avenue in downtown DeLand.
Sunday, March 21:
Chapel Service, free, an interdenominational service led by Stetson Chaplain Michael Fronk, featuring a moment of “Golden Silence” to honor recently deceased alumni, students, faculty and staff, 9 a.m. Sunday, March 21, Lee Chapel in Elizabeth Hall, 421 N. Woodland Blvd.
Art Exhibition, “Oscar Bluemner: Art and Identity Between the World Wars,” free, 1-4 p.m. Sunday, March 21, Hand Art Center, 139 E. Michigan Ave.
Lawson Lecture by Ignat Solzhenitsyn, “One Life to Live: Choice and Free Will in One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich,” free, 2 p.m. Sunday, March 21, Lee Chapel in Elizabeth Hall, 421 N. Woodland Blvd.
Performance/Talk by Ignat Solzhenitsyn, on the subject of a Schubert sonata, free, 4:30 p.m. Sunday, March 21, Feasel Rehearsal Hall in Mary B. McMahan Hall, 417 N. Woodland Blvd.
Media planning to cover the Inauguration should contact the Stetson Office of Public Relations and Communications at 386-822-8920 to arrange for media credentials. Anyone needing more information about the activities may call the Office of Public Relations and Communications at 386-822-8920.
Contact Brandi Palmer
Manager of Media Relations
727-562-7381 [email protected]
2006 Stetson Law graduate Marc L. Levine. Click for high-resolution image.
In May, the first Marc L. Levine Award will be presented to a Stetson University College of Law student who has demonstrated significant professional growth and leadership during his or her time at Stetson.
The award was established by Marc’s parents, Dr. and Mrs. Paul A. Levine, to honor a graduating student who, like Marc, emerged as a campus leader at Stetson.
“I am deeply honored that my parents decided to create an award in my name at Stetson Law,” said Levine, the award’s namesake. “However, I believe that the award is more of an acknowledgement of the amazing experience and education that Stetson Law provides its students than of my individual accomplishments while in law school.”
Levine, an Orlando attorney with GrayRobinson P.A., graduated cum laude in 2006 from Stetson Law; he received the Walter Mann Award for professional leadership and the William F. Blews Pro Bono Award for community service. While a student, he interned for Judge Elizabeth A. Kovachevich of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, and Judge Ralph C. Stoddard of Florida’s 13th Judicial Circuit. Levine is a member of the Stetson Lawyers Association Advisory Council.
Contact Brandi Palmer
Manager of Media Relations
727-562-7381 [email protected]
(L-R): Stetson HBA president David Fernandez accepts his award from 1985 Stetson Law graduate and former Clearwater Bar Association president Scott Schiltz. Photo courtesy Clearwater Bar. Click for high-resolution image.
Stetson University College of Law has again been listed among the top 25 law schools graduating Hispanics in The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education. The December 2009 Hispanic Outlook listed Stetson Law 15th among law schools across the country graduating the most Hispanic students.
Stetson Law’s Hispanic students have established a strong tradition of community and public service. David Fernandez, president of Stetson’s Hispanic Bar Association and Law and Order, made history on Feb. 11 when he became the first law student to receive the Clearwater Bar Foundation Excellence in Pro Bono Award. Fernandez received the award for his work to provide Spanish-speakers with access to legal documents through a translation project.
Stetson’s HBA was also honored for extraordinary service by the Florida Supreme Court with the Chief Justice’s Voluntary Bar Association Pro Bono Service Award in 2006.
The Hispanic Outlook gathered statistics on the top 25 law schools from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System. The magazine reports on the top U.S. law schools for Hispanics every year.
Contact Frank Klim
Executive Director of Communications
727-562-7889 [email protected]
Judge E.J. Salcines is this year's Tower Award recipient. Click for high-resolution image.
Judge E.J. Salcines has been selected to receive Stetson University College of Law’s Tower Award on May 1 at TPepin’s Hospitality Centre in Tampa.
Judge Salcines will be presented the award during Stetson’s Second Annual Scholarship Gala, which raises funds for law student scholarships. This year’s gala co-chairs are Stetson Law alumni Meredith Phipps Nutter ’04 and Rick Nutter ’03.
A Tampa native, Judge Salcines was appointed to Florida’s Second District Court of Appeal in 1998, where he served for a decade. Judge Salcines’ legal career spans work as an attorney, federal and state prosecutor, assistant U.S. attorney and judge. He received a J.D. degree from South Texas College of Law, as well as Honorary Doctors of Law Degrees from Stetson University College of Law and Florida Southern College. Judge Salcines has received numerous honors from civic groups and bar organizations for spearheading outstanding legal community service programs. He was awarded the University of South Florida’s President’s Distinguished Citizen Award in 1993 and Distinguished Service Award in 1996. The City of Tampa recognized him as Hispanic Man of the Year in 1993. Born to immigrants of Spain, Judge Salcines became the first Spanish-speaking assistant U.S. attorney in 1964.
Contact Brandi Palmer Manager of Media Relations 727-562-7381 [email protected]
WHO: The public is invited to attend an expo to learn more about how to guard against current financial frauds and scams targeting the elderly and seniors. This free event will be held in the Great Hall on the Stetson University College of Law campus at 1401 61st St. S. in Gulfport.
WHAT: The Bay Area Elder Consumer Protection Expo provides an opportunity to meet with various local and state consumer protection agencies; hear from speakers about the latest financial scams and frauds; and take advantage of identity theft protection services, including on-site document shredders, Do-Not-Call/Opt-Out registration, and credit reporting services. Expo attendees also will be treated to a continental breakfast and door prizes.
WHEN: Tuesday, April 20, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.
WHERE: Great Hall, Stetson University College of Law, 1401 61st St. S., Gulfport.
For more information, please call Elder Consumer Protection Fellow Slade V. Dukes of Stetson’s Financial Scam & Fraud Awareness Project at 727-562-7888 or e-mail [email protected]. You may also learn more about the latest scams and frauds by visiting Stetson’s Elder Consumer Protection Program.
Contact Brandi Palmer
Manager of Media Relations
727-562-7381 [email protected]
Former Jamaican Attorney General Arnold J. Nicholson is teaching a course in February at Stetson Law. High-resolution image.
Jamaican senator Arnold J. Nicholson, who served as Jamaica’s attorney general for 12 years, is teaching a course on Human Rights in the Commonwealth Caribbean through Feb. 21 at Stetson University College of Law. Nicholson, who arrived on campus Feb. 7, is a distinguished international fellow at Stetson Law through spring 2012.
“The Distinguished International Fellows program is a splendid opportunity for Stetson Law students to learn from leading legal scholars and judges from around the globe,” said John Cooper, Associate Dean of International and Cooperative Programs at Stetson Law.
Nicholson has been a member of the Jamaican Senate since 1998, and the legal advisor to the People’s National Party since 1996. He was Jamaica’s minister of legal affairs from 1995-1998, and the minister of justice from 2001-2007.
Nicholson joins Canadian Supreme Court Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin, who is also currently serving as a distinguished international fellow at Stetson.
Contact Brandi Palmer
Manager of Media Relations
727-562-7381 [email protected]
Heather Cain, a third-year Stetson Law student, offers a pair of shoes to a client at Pinellas Project Homeless Connect. Click for high-resolution image.
On Saturday morning, Jan. 30, a Homeless Court opened for the first time in St. Petersburg, Fla. More than 40 students from Stetson University College of Law in Gulfport volunteered to help staff a legal clinic for Pinellas Project Homeless Connect during the opening of the new court.
Stetson Law students helped pro bono attorneys work with homeless people to resolve legal issues and complete advanced directives like living wills. Students also spearheaded Project Shoe, collecting and donating more than 270 pairs of shoes to the homeless people attending Saturday’s event at the Coliseum in St. Petersburg. Realizing a need for them, the law students also bought and distributed 250 pairs of socks to compliment the shoes.
“Often, Pinellas County’s homeless are treated like they are invisible,” said student volunteer Noah Kores. “But on Saturday, they were catered to and treated with dignity.”
Stephen Lutz (left), a third-year Stetson Law student, discusses living wills with one of the many clients receiving assistance at Pinellas Project Homeless Connect in St. Petersburg on Saturday, Jan. 30. “It’s great to be able to help those who wouldn’t receive help otherwise,” said Lutz. Click for high-resolution image.
Kores, who chaired the legal committee at Project Homeless Connect, said planning for the event began back in August at the start of the fall semester. He approached fellow student Brett Henson about including an Advanced Directives Clinic at Project Homeless Connect.
Henson said the clinic originally began as an initiative to help seniors complete advanced directives like living wills and designation of health care surrogacy. Stetson Law graduate Casey Stoutamire and local elder law attorney Lee Carr launched the initial Elder Law Clinic in 2008 in churches and community centers across Tampa Bay. Student Shanda Moyers began working on the idea of a Homeless Court. Then this past fall, seeing a need for the same services for the homeless, Kores and Henson worked to integrate the Advanced Directives Clinic into the new project.
“I realized that advanced directives are for everyone, not just seniors,” said Henson. “For the clients we worked with at the clinic, we were able to ensure that their wishes regarding end-of-life decisions would be expressed to health care providers.”
Stetson’s American Bar Association Law Student Division, Christian Legal Society and Public Service Fellows pooled resources to host the Advanced Directives Clinic for the homeless at the January opening of the Homeless Court. According to the St. Petersburg Times, the next court date will be Feb. 27 at the Salvation Army Red Shield Lodge in St. Petersburg.
Contact Brandi Palmer
Manager of Media Relations
727-562-7381 [email protected]
Ramsar Secretary General Anada Tiega signed a memorandum of cooperation with Dean Darby Dickerson Feb. 18. Click for high-resolution image.
On Feb. 18, Stetson University College of Law became the first law school in the world to sign a memorandum of cooperation with the Ramsar Secretariat, assisting the international group that works to protect wetlands.
Stetson Law Dean Darby Dickerson signed a historic agreement with Ramsar Secretary General Anada Tiega on Stetson Law’s Gulfport campus at 1401 61st St. S.
Later in the day, Stetson Law professor Royal Gardner and law students attended a celebration with a Ramsar delegation at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary in Naples, Fla. Two recent Stetson Law graduates worked with the National Audubon Society on the application for the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary to be designated as a Wetland of International Importance, which was awarded in October 2009 by Ramsar. Wilderness artist Clyde Butcher and a National Audubon Society representative attended the invitation-only celebration in Naples.
An Audubon representative takes the Stetson Law students and Ramsar delegation on a tour of the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary in Naples on Feb. 18. Click for high-resolution image.
“We are very proud that our students played an important role in the Ramsar designation of Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, one of Florida’s great natural resources,” said Gardner, who directs Stetson’s Institute for Biodiversity Law and Policy. “Stetson’s agreement with the Ramsar Secretariat ensures that we can continue to collaborate on projects to protect wetlands throughout the world.”
Stetson has actively participated in Ramsar activities and was the first law school to become a member of the U.S. National Ramsar Committee, an organization that supports wetland conservation efforts. The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands has named more than 1,800 wetlands of international importance worldwide, including 29 sites in the U.S. Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary is the largest remaining stand of virgin bald cypress in North America.
Contact Brandi Palmer
Manager of Media Relations
727-562-7381 [email protected]
(L-R): Haley Meher, Patrick McArdle, Katherine C. Neal JD ’04, Thomas Carey, Christian Leger, Chelsea Harrison, Ming Lin. Click for high-resolution image.
First-year Stetson University College of Law students Chelsea C. Harrison, Christian M. Leger, Ming J. Lin, Patrick S. McArdle and Haley R. Meher received the inaugural Carey & Leisure Torts Book Award on Feb. 5 in St. Petersburg.
The award was created this academic year by the Clearwater law firm of Carey & Leisure, which specializes in plaintiff’s personal injury work. The five student winners, who all started law school at Stetson in fall 2009, were selected for the award based on their outstanding final exam grades in torts, a first-semester law course.
The students also attended a dinner hosted by partners in the law firm. The Carey & Leisure law firm, now in its 25th year, has been a leader in jury verdicts, legislative efforts and charitable endeavors, particularly in the fight against drunk driving, setting the jury verdict record multiple times in Pinellas County. Partner Thomas W. Carey has served as an instructor at Stetson, and partners Jodi Leisure JD/MBA ’99 and Katherine C. Neal JD ’04 serve on the Stetson Lawyers Association Advisory Council. Five of the firm’s six attorneys are Stetson Law graduates.
Contact Brandi Palmer
Manager of Media Relations
727-562-7381 [email protected]
Stetson University College of Law is offering a three-day conference for lawyers and educators on “Educating Advocates: Teaching Advocacy Skills” May 26-28 in Gulfport, Fla. Stetson Law is home to the top-ranked advocacy program in the nation.
“This program is an experiential learning opportunity designed to increase the knowledge, skills and effectiveness of anyone teaching advocacy,” said Professor Charles H. Rose III, director of Stetson’s Center for Excellence in Advocacy.
A national faculty of experts from renowned programs will discuss skills education, innovations in advocacy teaching, and communication arts.
Participants will attend break-out sessions to learn more about designing courses with skills components, assessing and critiquing student performance, and writing materials for courses, presentations and publications.
The interactive conference program will engage participants in both learning and applying the Stetson method of teaching advocacy and the art of communication. Conference attendees will have access to Stetson’s online Advocacy Resource Center, publications and other materials.
