A letter to our readers, from Dean Bobby Chesney.
One special joy of my job is greeting the new students at orientation each year. I get the chance to shape their expectations about the three-year journey ahead, and what lies beyond. I ask them to lean into the extraordinary learning environment of law school. I encourage them to build real relationships with as many fellow students as possible. And I urge them to never forget that lawyers have a special capacity—and duty—to serve others.
These same themes pervade this issue of Texas Law Magazine. Relationships are the heart of our story about Professor Helen Hargrave ’26 and her project to keep thousands of members of our community connected across the globe amidst World War II. The role of higher education as a crucible for learning is the foundation for our academic freedom story. And the issue is shot through with examples of service, from Bill Mahomes ’72 as the first Black man to be commissioned through the Texas A&M Corps of Cadets to Brooke Rollins ’98 taking the helm of the Department of Agriculture.
The Law School itself now serves as the home of the monthly sittings of the State of Texas’s new 15th Court of Appeals. Given that court’s particularly important subject-matter jurisdiction, this is a tremendous opportunity for our students. Already a host of impressive arguments have taken place, with students filling the seats and getting the chance to meet with the members of the court: Chief Justice Scott Brister, Justice (and Adjunct Professor) April Farris, and Justice Scott Field ’95. That’s a fine example of service and education coming together!
Hook ’em,
BOBBY CHESNEY
Dean, The University of Texas School of Law