Law School Special
An independent newspaper
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Wednesday, August 21,2002
Volume 104, Issue 16
Adam Jones Emerald
Former University School of Law Dean Rennard Strickland, left, and current Dean Laird Kirkpatrick share a laugh Tuesday in front of a New Guinean
ceremonial hut entrance door, which was donated from Strickland’s personal art collection.
A crisp, clean set of goals
Law school Dean Laird Kirkpatrick prepares to take
the helm—and the challenges that come with it
By Jenni Schultz
Oregon Daily Emerald
Dean Laird Kirkpatrick’s office is something reminiscent
of a law professor’s office from a movie.
It has a large windows, wall-to-floor bookcases, a pro
fessional-looking desk and of course, a plush, brown
leather chair.
The crisp, clean look of his office may indicate Kirk
patrick’s attitude toward his new job as dean of the School
of Law. His excitement about his new position is apparent,
and he said he’s ready to meet some goals for the law school.
Kirkpatrick’s resume boasts many things which make him
more than qualified for the job.
He has served as counsel to the head of the criminal di
vision at the U.S. Department of Justice, as well as an as
sistant U.S. attorney. Kirkpatrick received his first degree
from Harvard in 1965 and from the University School of
Law in 1968.
He said he came to Oregon originally because he loves the
beauty and the fact that the mountains and coast are only an
hour away.
Among his many accomplishments, he has been a profes
sor at the law school since 1974, which makes him very
qualified for the job of dean, law school Associate Dean of
Academic Affairs Margaret Paris said. She added that his
experience and time spent with the faculty provides easy
communication between him and the school.
“He has such a direct relationship with the faculty,” said
Turn to Kirkpatrick, page 6A
Program receives national award
for alternative lawyering methods
American Bar Association recognition is the
latest success for the law school’s growing
Appropriate Dispute Resolution Program
By Jillian Daley
Oregon Daily Emerald
The School of Law’s Appropriate Dispute Reso
lution Program won the American Bar Associa
tion’s first ever Chapter of the Year award for its
student group, the ADR Advocates.
The latest trainees in the ADRP are not students,
and they can attest to the program’s high stan
dards, especially since they came all the way from
the Ukraine to learn the alternative lawyering
methods the program offers.
“We thought before coming that the only way
to solve problems between neighbors, divorced
couples, was the courts,” Ukrainian law Profes
sor Iryna Voytyuk said. “Now we have a new vi
sion of the way to solve problems and disputes
between people.”
Voytyuk teaches at Lviv Commercial Academy
in Ukraine. She said that while these forms of le
gal practice have been in America for about two
decades, it is still a new concept in the Ukraine.
However, the ideas that the ADRP espouses
have only recently begun to receive widespread in
terest in America.
“It just may be a program whose time has come,”
ADRP manager Judy Sprauer said. Sprauer noted
that faculty has begun to see an increase in student
involvement in the program in the past few years.
Supporters of the ADRP said that the Universi
ty has an innovative and well-run program that
teaches students methods such as mediation and
arbitration, two ways of solving cases out of
court. Traditional classes teach students mostly
Turn to Award, page 6A
Outgoing dean
leaves a legacy
in many places
Rennard Strickland plans to take a year off for research
before returning to teaching at the law school
By Brad Schmidt
Oregon Daily Emerald
When Rennard Strickland speaks in his self-assured, vivid
voice at faculty workshops each summer, he always empha
sizes to prospective law professors that each can become a
“raven mocker.”
The Cherokee, he tells them, have a figure — the raven
mocker — who can be in many places at once.
So, he says, if a professor can become reasonably effective
at getting students interested in a particular field of study
then, in a way, the professor’s legacy will live on.
“You and your ideas — through your students — can be
many places at the same time,” he said.
And if anyone should know, it’s Strickland.
Since he began teaching in 1965, Strickland, who has
taught at more than 15 universities and was dean at four of
those, has left his mark on many.
“I have a great many students over the years who have
done really exciting and important things in Indian law, and
I always like to take credit for everything that they have
done,” said Strickland, who ended a five-year run as dean of
the School of Law on July 31.
A self-described “academic gypsy,” Strickland, who is
considered a pioneer in American Indian law, will be on
leave to do research this fall while he attempts to complete
his book “Spirit Red: The 500 Year War.”
Having worked on “Spirit Red,” his 36th book, for more
than 17 years, the 62-year-old bachelor is eager to see it
published.
But his sabbatical won’t last too long. Strickland, who al
ways seems to find his way into the lives of students, will be
back this spring to teach a seminar.
“I think that he is going to find the move into the faculty
an easy one,” law school Associate Dean for Operations
James O’Fallon said. “Students appreciate that they’re being
talked to ... as peers. ”
Then again, Strickland has always had a way of connect
ing with people.
As dean, Strickland hosted annual dinners for incoming
students to answer questions and share stories.
Raised in Oklahoma, Strickland was the oldest of three
Turn to Strickland, page 4A
Adam Jones Emerald
Law professors from the Ukraine are training at the School of Law’s Appropriate Dispute Resolution
Program, which recently received a Chapter of the Year award from the American Bar Association.