As I write this note, I’m enjoying the happy sounds of new 1Ls milling about the Dee J. Kelly Courtyard just outside the windows of my office. It gets loud, but it’s good to have the constant reminder of what our school is all about.
That’s not all that’s new. When you’re next in the building, you’ll see the newly renovated classrooms on the main floor of Townes Hall. Thanks to the generosity of Doug Bech ’70 and Sam Loughlin ’98, these formerly worn-out, workhorse classrooms are now beautiful showcases worthy of our amazing students and faculty.
Other exciting developments include the arrival of Prof. Eliot Cotton ’10 to lead a major new initiative supporting business and transactional careers; an array of exciting, timely new courses, for example, about law and artificial intelligence; and a huge boost to our loan-forgiveness program for students in public service careers of all sorts.
Of course, I care deeply that we innovate without losing sight of what has made this place amazing for generations. For example, those new programs and courses slot in alongside the standards, including those still taught by the incomparable Stanley Johanson! And we remain justly famous for our culture of collegiality, civility, and commitment to inquiry.
Still, I think constantly about the future and what we can do to ensure lifelong success for our students and all of you reading these words. That quest for the bold, new, and impactful idea is threaded throughout this issue of Texas Law Magazine. I hope you enjoy it.
Hook ’em,
Bobby Chesney
Dean, The University of Texas School of Law