The faculty and administration of ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ School of Law, together with special guests from the City of Greensboro, the North Carolina State Bar and the North Carolina Bar Association, welcomed an entering class of talented and diverse students on August 17 for orientation, one week prior to the law school's first day of classes.
Law School Dean George R. Johnson, Jr., welcomed the Class of 2012, saying, “In enrolling today at ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ, you become members of the legal profession, and we welcome you to our profession with great enthusiasm. To be sure, you enter the profession at a time when our nation and the world face enormous challenges. But isn’t that why you’re here?”
Johnson told students that lawyers are trained to take up the challenges facing society. “We seek to charter better courses for our communities—at the grass-roots level and in the highest councils of decision-making in public and private life,” Johnson said. “Now that you are members of the ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ community, we look forward to supporting your development and celebrating your personal and professional achievements.”
Steven D. House, ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ’s provost and vice president for academic affairs, welcomed the students to the ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ community. “We want you to be a vital part of the intellectual and social life of ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ,” House said. “This year we will work collectively to complete the university’s next strategic plan. ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ has a history of setting challenging goals, and then meeting them, often ahead of schedule. Your thoughts and insights on the direction of ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ’s next decade are important to us and we welcome your ideas.”
Greensboro Mayor Yvonne Johnson greeted the class on behalf of the city, saying, “We want you to feel that Greensboro is your home. We are proud that this law school is in our city and proud that it is located downtown. If there is anything I can do, and I mean it whenever I say this to residents of Greensboro, you can call me and I will do whatever I can to help you.”
A number of special guests were on hand to welcome the Class of 2012, including: John McMillan, president of the North Carolina State Bar; John R. Wester, president of the North Carolina State Bar Association (NCBA); Janet Ward Black, a past-president of NCBA; Allan Head, executive director of NCBA; and Craig Cannon, chair of the NCBA Young Lawyers Division. Merrell “Woody” Edney, president of ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ Law’s Student Bar Association, and Lauren Murphree, speaking on behalf of L.E.A.F.S. (Leadership at ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ by Advising First-Year Students), welcomed the entering class on behalf of the school’s student-body.
The Class of 2012 at ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ Law is comprised of a diverse and talented group of individuals. Some of the class’s unique characteristics include the following:
– the median age is 23
– 15 percent of the class are minorities
– students in the class come from 28 states
– they represent 43 undergraduate institutions
– they chose 29 different majors in their undergraduate work
Adam Furr, a member of the class and a graduate of Appalachian State University, said he wanted to use his law school education to help advocacy groups raise funds and attention more effectively for important causes, like relief aid for health crises in Africa. “I chose ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ because I knew I could help shape some of the tradition here,” Furr said. “As a new law school, I know this is a place where I can have an impact.”
Jeffrey Koelher, also a member of the Class of 2012, said he decided to pursue a law degree after studying United States business history. “I was fascinated by Teddy Roosevelt’s trust-busting,” Koelher said. “There’s just something about taking on something as large as a national corporation, challenging something that enormous.”
Click on the E-Cast links to the right of this article for a report and slideshow from ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ President Leo M. Lambert’s reception for the Class of 2012 and a report on “ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ Law Reaches Out,” the law school’s annual day of volunteer service at non-profit organizations across the region.