Law School News, 1216 WYBJ, Vol. 39 No. 6. 56
| Author | Klint W. Alexander, Ph.D., J.D. |
Klint W. Alexander, Ph.D., J.D.
Dean & Professor of Law University of Wyoming College of Law klint.alexander@uwyo.edu
An Extraordinary Year Comes to an End
2016 has turned out to be an extraordinary year for the country, Wyoming and the University of Wyoming College of Law. We have a new President (like no other) in the White House and on campus (the first woman). The Broncos won the Super Bowl, and UW beat Boise State for the first time ever and is headed to a major bowl. The State and the University managed to survive one of the worst fiscal declines in modern Wyoming history. And the month of November was warm enough to go whitewater rafting without a wetsuit. These developments, and others, highlight an important lesson for all of us to remember this holiday season—any-thing is possible if you set to your mind to it.
In regard to the College of Law, what began as a typical calm year under the contemplative eye of Socrates ended with some extraordinary developments, both good and bad, for our close-knit community. On a positive note, the College of Law was ranked 8th in the nation in terms of “least amount of debt load upon graduation” and is enjoying one of its best years in terms of the quality of its incoming “female-dominated” (52%) 1L class and our success on the Wyoming (75%) and Colorado (88%) bar exams. Our very own Tori Kricken was appointed to the District Court Bench in Laramie. Our first Salt Creek Energy Excellence Scholarship was awarded to Megan Romano (2L). And the Center for Law & Energy Resources in the Rockies (CLERR) hosted its most successful conference yet in bringing energy officials, practitioners, and scholars together to exchange ideas on energy policy development in Wyoming. Congratulations to all for these remarkable accomplishments!
At the same time, the College of Law suffered some difficult losses during the year. Professor Diane Courselle passed away in September, leaving behind a tremendous legacy of teaching, scholarship and community service in the field of criminal law. Her compassion and commitment as the faculty supervisor of the College of Law’s oldest clinic—the Defender Aid Program —transformed the lives of many students and indigent persons convicted of crimes who thought they had been forgotten. Also, we are losing Professor Dona Playton, who is taking a...
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