SC Lawyer, Jan. 2005, #6. Building a future on the foundation of tradition and excellence.

• Author: By Burnele V. Powell

South Carolina Lawyer

2005.

SC Lawyer, Jan. 2005, #6.

Building a future on the foundation of tradition and excellence

South Carolina Lawyer January. 2005

Building a future on the foundation of tradition and excellenceBy Burnele V. Powell"... the University of South Carolina School of Law looks confidently to a future in which we are - and will be perceived to be - one of the very best law schools in the nation."

Forging the vision

As the new dean at a law school with a long and celebrated history, I am often asked about my vision for the school. My answer is usually short: "What we have always been, simply the best." As heirs to a tradition of lawyers who have honored their alma mater through their leadership in every aspect of the profession - as attorneys, judges, business and government leaders, as leaders in the service sectors, education, public interest, the political realm and in so many other ways - our commitment remains as it has always been: to provide the best education for the sons and daughters of South Carolina, so that they may pursue justice under law for the benefit of South Carolina, the region and the nation.

Because ours is a tradition, then, that is grounded on a foundation laid over the course of 137 years by more than 12,000 alumni and bolstered by countless friends, supporters and visionaries, the University of South Carolina School of Law looks confidently to a future in which we are - and will be perceived to be - one of the very best law schools in the nation.

We accept, therefore, that we are at a defining moment in our history. With a new dean and the advantages of a superb, nationally recruited faculty and a supportive base of alumni and friends, we are excited about the challenges ahead. Nothing more dramatically captures the future we envision than our publicly stated commitment to upgrade our facilities. Symbolized by the construction of a state of the art law school building, our commitment is to seize every advantage to assure that those in the next generation of South Carolina lawyers share a future that is as significant in its contribution, as rewarding in its service and as defining in its impact as received by past generations of lawyers.

We aspire to this, and can be satisfied with nothing less, because first and foremost the School of Law is South Carolina's law school. Our mission is expressed through our students, but our responsibility remains the larger commitment - a commitment to communities that touch us in Columbia, but spread out from the Horseshoe across the...