News for alumni and friends of Indiana Law
April 2020
In this issue:
- From the Dean
- Two major gifts bring campaign goal within view
- Annual teaching award recipients named
- Waters receives fellowship
- Jerome Hall Law Library remains open remotely
- Faculty news
- Student news
- Class notes now available on line
- Buy a brick, commemorate your commitment
From the Dean
You are very much on our minds as we confront the changes brought about by the COVID–19 pandemic. I hope that you and your families are safe and well. Here in Bloomington, the past month has been busy and challenging. Our staff have been working long hours to ensure the health and safety of our students and to sustain our academic mission.
In these unprecedented times, the entire Law School community has pulled together, with students, faculty, and staff rising to the occasion. Our faculty worked around the clock to learn the technology necessary to teach virtually, and classes resumed remotely on March 30 with minimal disruption. Our students have been terrific and have shown tremendous resilience with a positive attitude that would make alumni proud. The semester will end next week and exams, while online, will go forward as scheduled. Out of necessity, we have moved our formal graduation ceremony to December, but the school will recognize and celebrate our graduates remotely this May in a number of ways.
Unfortunately, many of our students have faced significant challenges. Some have taken ill with COVID–19; our thoughts are with them, we are told they are doing well, and we pray for their quick recovery. Students are also taking on new responsibilities they hadn’t expected—from homeschooling their children, to caring for ill parents and family members, to supporting loved ones who’ve lost their jobs. Thankfully, our emergency funding program—the Fromm Emergency Fund, which alumni established in honor of our former dean of students—is available to provide financial relief to students who need it most. We also recently secured a $25,000 grant from AccessLex Institute to support students in need as a result of the pandemic.
The Office of Student Affairs, the Career Services Office, and the Office of Graduate and International Programs Office have been meeting virtually with students every day. We’ve also recently launched a new research assistant program to hire up to 30 students who have lost jobs. I’m hearing of faculty, students, staff, alumni, and friends who are supporting local organizations that help the most vulnerable. I am proud of staff who have bought and delivered food for those in need and students who have hand-made face masks to donate to local charities.
One of our biggest challenges is employment for students. Fall on-campus interviewing appears likely to be postponed, and many of our students’ summer and post-graduate plans are now in doubt. Several of you have reached out to ask how you might help, and we are beyond grateful for the outpouring of support. If you are in a position to help our students find work this summer or fall, please contact Anne McFadden, assistant dean for career services, at anmcfadd@iu.edu. Any meaningful employment—even remote and unpaid—that can help bridge a gap on our students’ résumés is welcomed.
Aside from COVID–19 and the many challenges it has brought, life continues. This issue of ergo will update you on the Law School’s latest news. You’ll read about two fabulous gifts to the law school to support students, our annual teaching awards recognizing exceptional classroom instruction, and how the Jerome Hall Law Library is adjusting to a new online reality.
As dean, I count myself to be fortunate that the Law School is filled with generous, kind, and thoughtful people, who have come together at a difficult time. I am particularly grateful for the alumni who have reached out and offered their help. That generosity of spirit distinguishes our alums in a remarkable way. All of us here hope that you and your families are staying healthy. I look forward to seeing you again as soon as circumstances allow.
With gratitude,
Austen Parrish
Two major gifts bring campaign goal in view
We are grateful for all of the gifts made in our capital campaign, and for all the alumni, friends, faculty, staff, and students who have shown their love and support for the Law School. Recent gifts from three alumni have brought the Law School’s Bicentennial Campaign results to $58.3 million, 97% of the $60 million goal.
Kathleen DeLaney, ’95, and Ann DeLaney, ’77, have made a substantial gift to the school, and the Moot Court Room has been named in their honor. A formal ceremony commemorating the naming of the Kathleen and Ann DeLaney Moot Court Room will take place after Baier Hall reopens.
Allen R. Reed, ’84, and his wife, Denise Rippetoe-Reed, have made major gift to the Law School. Reed has had a long career in the securities brokerage industry, beginning with Lincoln Financial Group in Fort Wayne, Ind. He currently serves as director and corporate legal counsel for Charles Schwab & Company, Chicago.
Profiles of these alumni and an update on the campaign, which ends June 30, will appear in the print edition of ergo this summer.
Annual teaching award recipients named
Dean Parrish has announced that five faculty members have received annual teaching awards. Prof. Laura Daghe received the Leon H. Wallace Teaching Award. Named for the Law School’s former dean, it is the highest academic honor the school bestows. Daghe teaches a rigorous but popular first-year course in legal research and writing, and students praise her for the 110% she gives in each class, and her willingness to be a caring mentor and patient coach.
Profs. Luis Fuentes-Rohwer, Steve Sanders, and Carwina Weng received Trustees’ Teaching Awards. Fuentes-Rohwer was cited for his innovative teaching technique in his civil rights seminar, in which students assess and critique their work along with that of their fellow students. Sanders, who teaches constitutional law–related and family law courses, received praise for ability to explore students’ disparate points of view while maintaining respect and equanimity in the classroom. Students hailed Weng, a clinical professor, for her empowering approach and use of simulations, role-plays, and other creative methods to impart real-life lawyering skills.
Hon. Jose M. Rodriguez, Jr., ʼ80, received the Adjunct Faculty Teaching Award. A trial court judge in Miami, Fla., Rodriguez was cited for bringing courtroom experiences to the classroom while helping students overcome preconceptions about doctrinal classes. Rodriguez is a member of the school’s Law Alumni Board and frequently hires students as judicial clerks.
The honorees will receive their awards in person once Baier Hall reopens.
Waters receives fellowship
Prof. Timothy William Waters has been named a 2020 Fellow of the American Council of Learned Societies. The ACLS Fellowship Program honors scholars in the humanities and humanistic social sciences who have the potential to make significant contributions to knowledge in their fields. Waters received a grant to work on a project examining how three major war crimes tribunals produce secrecy, how trial participants understand the purposes of secrecy, and what effects secrecy has on their larger goals for promoting post-conflict justice.
An expert on international law, Waters served as a member of the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal, where he helped draft the indictment of Slobodan Milošević. His latest book, Boxing Pandora: Rethinking Borders, States, and Secession in a Democratic World, was published earlier this year by Yale University Press.
Jerome Hall Law Library remains open remotely
The Jerome Hall Law Library has taken a number of measures to support the Law School community in its shift to remote teaching and learning. Reference assistance remains available by email, chat, and Zoom. Interlibrary loan is still available for electronic content, and the library continues to enhance its collections through digital acquisitions, most recently Procertas, an online platform that offers a legal technology assessment to help students gain vital skills in the efficient use of programs such as Microsoft Word, Excel, and Adobe Acrobat.
Ashley Ahlbrand, the interim director of the library, added that librarians are working hard to support students who may have made the sudden transition home without their legal texts in tow. They have made arrangements with legal vendors for complimentary access to their electronic platforms through the end of the semester.
“The Law Library has always been much more than just its physical space,” Ahlbrand said. “And while we cannot wait to fill the Reading Room with students once again, we are embracing this opportunity to extend our service.” Ahlbrand encourages alumni to contact her at aaahlbra@indiana.edu if she or her staff can be of assistance.
Faculty news
On February 28, Prof. Jessica Eaglin participated in a panel at the UC Berkeley Center for Law and Technology symposium, “The Roles of Technology Expertise in Law and Policy.” Her topic: “Who are the experts and what is the expertise necessary for sound technology policy and use of technology in governance?”
Prof. Gina-Gail Fletcher and Prof. Pamela Foohey formally received tenure this month from the university.
Distinguished Prof. Charles Geyh delivered a guest lecture at Case Western Reserve Law School on February 27 titled “The Twilight of Judicial Independence.” While in Cleveland, he spoke on the same topic at The City Club of Cleveland.
Prof. William Henderson presented at the Chili IQ Lawtech Summit 13 Managing Partners Forum in Australia on February 28. He spoke on the opportunities and dilemmas of one-to-many legal solutions.
Prof. Mark D. Janis helped reconvene the Trademark Scholars Roundtable and Stanford University on March 2. The group dealt with the topics of trademark remedies and with the reactive versus proactive nature of trademark rules. On March 3, Janis and Prof. Norm Hedges visited Purdue University (their alma mater), where they met with aeronautical and astronautical engineering students to discuss the practical uses of patent law.
Prof. Leandra Lederman presented “The Fraud Triangle and Tax Evasion” at Brigham Young University J. Reuben Clark Law School’s Tax Policy Colloquium on March 2.
Read The Docket for faculty quotes and op-eds in state and national media.
Student news
The Law School’s Public Interest Law Foundation raised over $18,000 in its annual Singing for Summer Salaries event. The lunchtime fund-raiser before a capacity crowd in the DeLaney Moot Court Room, in which students bid on professors to sing a song before the audience, collected funds for summer stipends for students’ public interest work. Assistant Dean Anne McFadden “won” this year’s competition.
The Black Students Law Association sponsored the social event of the Law School’s season, the Rapheal A. Prevot, Jr. Barristers Ball, on February 15. Lakeisha Barnes and Trevor Worbey were crowned Ms. and Mr. Maurer.
The Latinx Law Student Association won the 2020 Indiana University Latino Faculty and Staff Council Organization Award, recognized as the organization of the year for its contribution to the Latino community.
Alex Pantos was named editor-in-chief of the Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies.Hughie Keller, Clara Gutwein, Morgan York, Mahrukh Badar, Mahrukh Ali, and Alex Pantos have had their articles accepted for presumed publication in the Journal’s next volume.
Alexa Wilson was elected chief justice of the Sherman Minton Executive Advisory Board; Cole Byram was selected as the 2020-2021 Student Bar Association President; Dakota Coates was elected IU Graduate and Professional Student Government president and John Pope was elected as its treasurer.
Amanda Magaldi won a scholarship from the AccessLex Institute; Cheyna Hass Galloway was awarded the prestigious John H. Edwards Fellowship, one of the university’s most prestigious academic awards; and Kevin Jones is being recognized by IU’s Black Graduate Student Association as a Leading the Way Award recipient.
Although the competition has been delayed, the school has assembled a team for the Willem Vis Moot Court consisting of JiMin Kim, Brandy Cheng, Jad Labban, Siuy Li, Mary Strong, Andrew Ireland, Fuxing Sai, and Derrick Hou. Adjunct Prof. Angie Raymond advises the team.
The Patent Drafting Competition team of Payton Hoff, Sarah Kelly, Ziyu Ma, and Melanie Magdun presented virtually before a panel of judges as part of the US Patent and Trademark Office’s regional competition.
Michael Glennon and Wei-Chi Hsu represented the school virtually at the American Intellectual Property Law Association Giles Sutherland Rich Moot Court Competition.
Class notes now available on line
Keep in touch with your friends and classmates by visiting our new online Class Notes feature. You can also submit your own class notes on line. A semi-annual compilation of all class notes will continue to be published in the print editions of ergo.
Buy a brick, commemorate your commitment
The Law School continues its campaign to attract additional pledges to our Partners in Excellence program in conjunction with the final months of the Bicentennial Campaign.
Partners in Excellence — donors who pledge at least $2,500 per year for five years to the Law School’s Dean’s Incentive Fund or Fund for Excellence — will be honored with a commemorative brick on the back patio of the Law School. The brick will be installed upon receipt of the first pledge (one brick per pledge). Existing Partners in Excellence will receive a brick when they renew their pledge.
Your commitment as a Partner in Excellence is especially important because it gives the dean flexibility to support the school’s key initiatives, including our five law journals, more than 30 student organizations, pro bono programs and clinics, student scholarships, faculty research, the Jerome Hall Law Library, financial assistance for travel to students’ job interviews, and unexpected needs that arise throughout the year.
Nearly 60 alumni and friends have already signed up. Join them! To reserve your brick, contact Stephanie Coffey, director of annual giving, at stcoffey@indiana.edu.