Wake Forest Magazine, March 2007 - Past Issues - Wake Forest ...

A R O U N D T H E Q U A DWalsh steps down as School of Law deanSCHOOL OF LAW DEANRobert K. Walsh is steppingdown from the dean’s positionnext month after a remarkabletenure in which he not only transformedthe law school into one ofthe leading schools in the countrybut also rose to become one ofthe top leaders in American legaleducation. As announced lastsummer, he will take a one-yearsabbatical and then return to theclassroom.Walsh had a varied background—as a practicing attorney, a lawfaculty member at Villanova University,dean of the University ofArkansas at Little Rock School ofLaw, and finally a litigation partnerwith a law firm in Little Rock—that made him well-qualifiedin 1989 to become dean. Thefact that he’s served for eighteenyears—more than triple thenational average length of a lawdeanship across the country—shows that Walsh and WakeForest were a good fit, says JimWhite, who served for twenty-sixyears as the chairman of the ABA’slegal education section.“Bob’s been a remarkabledean,”said White, a faculty memberat Indiana University. “It’sfair to say he made Wake Foresta truly national law school. Beforehe came, it was certainly a goodschool, but it was regional. As Inow talk to people around thecountry, it’s clear that Wake Forestis one of the leading law schoolsin America. There is no doubtthat he’s considered one of thereal leaders in American legaleducation.”During Walsh’s tenure, thelaw school moved into the WorrellProfessional Center for Lawand Management; opened theLegal Clinic for the Elderly; beganthe Master of Laws degree programfor international lawyers;and started summer study programsin Vienna and Venice,where Wake Forest owns residentialstudy centers. He also led thedevelopment and completion oftwo long-range strategic plansfor the school and saw the schoolthrough two University-widecapital campaigns. Fundraisinghas increased student financialaid and supported the creationof four faculty chairs and threeendowed professorships.“He has tirelessly worked onbehalf of the law school and raisedthe profile of the school throughany number of activities,” saidBill Davis (JD ’66), a partner withBell, Davis & Pitt in Winston-Salem.“He’s expanded the schooland been able to attract excellentfaculty members. He’s spent alot of time with alumni. He’s justbeen an excellent dean.”Under Walsh’s leadership, theschool won a number of awardsand honors, including membershipin the prestigious Order ofthe Coif; the Emil Gumpert Awardfor Excellence in Trial Advocacyfrom the American College ofTrial Lawyers; and the E. SmytheGambrell Professionalism Awardfrom the American Bar Associationfor its three-year comprehensiveprofessional educationprogram. In 2004, National Juristmagazine named Wake Forestthe “best private law school forthe money” in the United States,based upon such factors as barpassage rates, placement rates,and student-faculty ratio.For fourteen of his eighteenyears as dean, Walsh taught acourse on federal courts. He ismost proud of having hired onehalfof the current tenure-trackfaculty. “The collegiality of thelaw faculty here is outstanding.They are national scholars butare still devoted to their teaching,”he said. “They are committedto educating students outsideof the classroom as well, alwaysgiving of their time to meet withstudents, to judge moot courtcompetitions, and to attend studentevents.“Wake Forest is built aroundthe idea of education that caresabout each individual student.There is a whole sense of communityhere that is very differentfrom other national universities.”— Ellen Dockham6 WAKE FOREST MAGAZINE