Kirkpatrick seeks changes
as new dean of law school
■ Professor Laird Kirkpatrick
will become dean of the
University law school after
a competitive race for the office
By LaBree Shide
Oregon Daily Emerald
After five years as dean of the
University law school, Rennard
Strickland is stepping down and
longtime University law Professor
Laird Kirkpatrick is stepping up.
Kirkpatrick will officially be
come the new dean Aug. 1 and has
a lot of plans for the law school.
“I want to help the law school
continue to move forward to the
top tier of public law schools,”
Kirkpatrick said.
To accomplish his goals, Kirk
patrick has several ideas.
“We need to continue our pattern
of excellence in hiring new faculty.
We need to publicize ourselves
more and let the world know what
outstanding faculty members and
students we have. Finally, we need
to do everything we can to increase
private support to enhance our pro
grams and offset the decline in state
funding,” he said.
Strickland, who will continue to
teach at the University, said there
are many things about Kirkpatrick
that make him right for the job.
“He is a distinguished graduate
of this law school, a long-term fac
ulty member, a major scholar, a
highly regarded member of the
Oregon legal community, as well
as a caring and concerned individ
ual,” Strickland said.
Strickland is confident that
Kirkpatrick will bring needed and
welcomed changes to the Universi
ty. Strickland said change is al
ways needed at the law school.
“Education about the law must
change to keep pace with the
changes in society. Many of our
students will be practicing law in
the year 2050 and beyond.”
Kirkpatrick recently returned
from Washington, D.C., after two
years. He served as counsel to the
head of the criminal division at the
Department of Justice and a com
missioner on the U.S. Sentencing
Commission.
Before he started teaching at the
University, Kirkpatrick was an as
sistant U.S. attorney, executive di
rector of Legal Aid Service in Port
land and a trial attorney in Eugene.
The search for a new law school
dean was not an easy one. Jane
Gordon, the associate dean for stu
dent and program affairs and a
member of the selection commit
tee, said it was a very involved and
detailed process.
Each finalist was interviewed for
a two-to three-day period. Gordon
said each person was presented to
several groups, including law
school faculty, law school stu
dents, the community, law school
administration, alumni, as well as
University students and faculty
and administration. “[The candi
dates] were interviewed by every
constituency out there,” Gordon
said. “Kirkpatrick was unanimous
ly regarded as a great choice.”
Gordon said she thinks one rea
son for his selection is his recent
real world experience.
“It is great to bring in a practi
tioner who has been outside re
cently, someone who has served in
the public,” she said.
Gordon said she believes the
connections Kirkpatrick brings to
the University are numerous after
several years in public service and
teaching off and on over the past
20 years at the University.
“He could walk into any law
firm and know someone because
of his years of teaching and serv
ice,” Gordon said.
Kirkpatrick originally didn’t
plan to apply to be dean. “I sup
ported a colleague who applied for
the position. When he withdrew,
“many faculty and alumni urged
me to become a candidate,” he
said. “I am deeply honored that I
was ultimately selected.”
E-mail reporter LaBree Shide
at labreeshide@dailyemerald.com.
News brief
Singapore culture night aims
to Amplify individual work
The Singapore Students Associ
ation Singapore Cultural Night
2002, Amplify, will showcase local
artists with talents and trades from
Singapore at 9 p.m. Saturday in the
EMU Fir Room.
A dinner and show will be held
from 9 p.m. to 10 p.m., followed by
dancing from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m.
SSA President Lindsay Goh said
the night is focused more on indi
vidual contributions than achieve
ments of the country as a whole.
“The showcase will also high
light aspects of the individuals be
hind the production of these cre
ative works, creating a sort of narra
tive without a plot that captures the
prevailing sociocultural forces in
Singapore,” she said.
She said this year’s team wanted
to think outside the box and is gear
ing up to expose the more creative
side of the cultural arts.
“Culture events held by inter
national student organizations are
traditionally focused on a limited
sense of the term culture, incor
porating historic features and as
pects of customs and traditions,”
she said. “This inclination [is]
producing skewed portrayals of
the present conditions of progres
sive nations such as Singapore,”
she said.
The audience can expect enter
tainment from musical guests, as
well as skits, fashion design and
visual and print media presenta
tions before the dance party gets
under way.
Disc jockeys from the Singapore
music scene Guerilla Collective are
set to play the tunes for the
evening. Goh said the crew brings
an eclectic mix of original beats,
hip-hop, acid-jazz, house music
and other contemporary hits.
Student admission is $5 and
general admission is $7. Tickets
can be purchased at the EMU
Ticket Office.
For more information, call SSA
at 346-4368.
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