Dreams Will Come True, Students Can Now Earn a J.D. Degree at

alumni mattersletter fromthe alumni presidentalumni news20 Michaelmas Term 2005By Diane Britt,Alumni Association PresidentA year as president of the Cooley AlumniAssociation has passed quickly.It has been a time of change, and still is. Cooley Law School and thisalumni association continue to reinvent themselves. Probably the clearestevidence of this is that Cooley students can now earn all of their 90 lawschool credits at any of Cooley’s three campus locations in Michigan. Wehope that this will also open the door for much more alumni and studentcontact at each of Cooley’s three locations in Lansing, Grand Rapids, andon the campus of Oakland University in Rochester. It will both allow us,and require us, to be more flexible and diverse in our interactions. Ibelieve we are up to the challenge.During the past year it has been a distinct pleasure for me to present theAlumni Association’s Distinguished Student Awards for each term, as wellas the annual Alumni Memorial Scholarship. These awards are given at thethree Honors Convocations held during the academic year. The awardsare made by our association to several Cooley students who have not onlyachieved scholastically, but who have also been outstanding in their participationin the larger community. Their résumés and letters of support saymuch about them. Still, it has been exciting to meet them in person andhear their individual stories. We look forward to having theseoutstanding students as future members of the alumni association.I see energy and enthusiasm among the alumni association members. Ihave also seen this spark among those who have not yet becomemembers — and we hope you will consider becoming a member if you arenot yet part of this organization. This energy and enthusiasm tends to beself-renewing. It transforms and benefits all of us, whether we are alumni,staff, faculty, or students.In my experience, I have found that alumni association members aremulti-faceted and multi-talented. As alumni association members, we applyour talents and expertise, and are dedicated to building this associationand enhancing the Cooley Law School experience. Association membersbuild bridges between alumni and students. They offer mentoring to newalumni and current students. They provide moral support, networkingopportunities, and encouragement to alumni who live across Michigan, thenation, and the world. I thank you for the opportunity to be president ofthis vital and forward-thinking organization. I hope to see you at thealumni association’s local, state, and national events in the future.Grand Rapids Area Graduates, Staff, andStudents Socialize in JuneCooley’s western Michigan alumni and current students gatheredon June 27 at McFadden’s Restaurant & Saloon on Ionia Ave. SWin downtown Grand Rapids, Mich. Forty-one alumni, students,faculty, staff, and friends of the law school joined the hosts at thealumni reception and student mixer.Associate Dean of the Grand Rapids campus Marion Hilligan(Johnson Class, 1989), Alumni Association President Diane J.Britt (Chandler Class, 1983), Alumni Association Vice Presidentand Professor Julie Clement (McDonald Class, 1998) and AlumniRelations Director Darryl Parsell (Wiest Class, 1979) welcomedthe guests. Alumni co-hosts Alumni Special Events CommitteeChair Aletha Honsowitz (Witherell Class, 1990), Lisa Pohl (KuhnClass, 1995), and Colleen Klesmith (Whipple Class, 1985) werea great help as they met and registered all of the guests.Additional Cooley faculty and staff attending the reception andmixer included professors Curt Benson (Mundy Class, 1986),Lynn Branham, Paul Carrier, and Don Petersen; GR EnrollmentCoordinator David Dee, GR Assistant Dean Nelson Miller, andGR Deputy Director Joan Rosema-David (Jay Class, 2000).In addition to the staff and distinguished guests already mentioned,graduates attending included Patrick Beatty (Needham Class,2004), Maureen Burns Van Hoven (Grant Class, 1987), RonaldDavid (Carr Class, 1984), Sandra Densham (Starr Class, 2005),Kathleen Dunne (Stone Class, 1996), Travis Earley (Boyles Class,2005), Patricia Gelderloos (Edwards Class, 2006), William Hawley(Swift Class, 2004), Chris Krupp (Lawrence Class, 1991), DavidLedbetter (Douglass Class, 1987), Matthew Miller (Starr Class,2005), and Jennifer Racine (McAllister Class, 2005).Current students enjoyed the opportunity to network with thegraduates. Students at the mixer included Wafa Adib-Lobo, MaryBrattain, Thomas Clark, Melanie Croft, Candace Daunis, MattDeLange, LeeAnn Ford, Aaron LeClair, Sharnelle Porter, KimRoyster, Don Stauffer, R. John Stephan, and Roumiana Velikova.24 BENCHMARK TRINITY 2006