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FROM THE DEAN
KRISTEN HINES
How Law Professors Make Their Mark
D E A N R O B E R T J E R R Y
I
have spent almost 30 years of my
life on law school campuses, first
as a law student and later as a law
professor and dean. During that
time, I have been privileged to
work with a distinctive group of
people who are, without a doubt,
the nucleus of any law school.
I refer, of course, to my
faculty colleagues.
The law professors
I have known through
the years, including my
outstanding colleagues at
our own law school,
are fascinating individuals
who are as different as they
are alike. Yet I have
observed some common
characteristics as they engage in their vocation of
teaching, research and service. My personal
experience is that most of these men and women are
determined, hard-working, intellectually gifted and
passionately committed to educating the quick minds
that scrutinize them in the classroom. They study,
debate, inspire and lead in the hope of building a
more equitable world.
The purposes of the modern university, of which
law schools are a part, are to transmit and discover
knowledge. For law professors, discovering
knowledge equates to generating ideas that promote
For law professors,
discovering knowledge
equates to generating
ideas that promote law
reform and improvements
in the system of justice.
law reform and improvements in the system of justice.
Thus, legal scholarship, as measured by the quality
and quantity of scholarly publications, is a vital part
of any professorʼs activities and usually complements
and enhances the teaching function. Yet, I think for
many it is the role of teacher that provides profound
satisfaction and constant opportunities to tangibly
shape the lives of students. In this regard, I agree
with my colleague Kent
Syverud, now the law dean
at Washington University-
St. Louis, who made this
point in an article he wrote
about teaching. With the
exception of a very few of
us, most of us will change
the world more through our
students than through what
we write.
Several articles in this issue demonstrate the
significant ways our alumni are making their marks
on the world, including serving as distinguished
judges, lawyers and public servants. But what this
issue also highlights is how some of our alumni are
changing the world by teaching in universities across
the nation. As a law professor, I find it particularly
gratifying to see our graduates answering the calling
to train the next generations of lawyers. This is
another reason I am both privileged and proud to be
a member of the faculty and the dean at the Levin
College of Law at the University of Florida. ■
Cover: Professor Leslie Yalof Garfield (JD 85), Pace University
PHOTO BY STEVE JORDAN
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