December 2006-January 2007
Dean Heidi M. Hurd
David C. Baum Professor of Law and Professor of Philosophy
Co-Director of the Program in Law and Philosophy
Telephone (217) 333-9857
hhurd@law.uiuc.edu
Dear Students, Faculty, Staff, Alumni, Campus Administrators, and Friends:
The halls are decked with exam schedules and students are indeed dreaming of a white Christmas, while fretting unduly that the exams to come will make it a blue one. 'Tis the season in which the pace of activities at the College reaches a zenith as professors scramble to devise clever exam hypotheticals and spend hours reviewing the semester's material with students suddenly eager to take advantage of office hours; students vie for the College's precious group study rooms and consume gallons of cafeteria coffee while trading outlining secrets; and the staff struggles to meet the demands of administering a massive examination system while fostering a happy, festive mood for the hundreds of people who won't go home for the holidays until the stockings are hung by the chimney with care.
As we go dashing through the now-falling snow toward the respite provided by the winter break, I want to wish you all the happiest of holidays and leave you with what will be the last news of 2006:
- Students, Faculty, and Staff Continue the Tradition of Holiday Giving
- Alumnus Marshall Eisenberg '71 Funds the Thomas M. Mengler Faculty Scholar Position
- A Broker of Services: A Profile of Assistant Dean Virginia Vermillion
- Movie Stars, Mystery Writers, and Alumni: Edwin Adams '39 and George Chandler '55
- "Illinois Law" Continues to Examine Leading Legal Issues in the News
- The Fall Trial Team Advances to "Sweet Sixteen" at Buffalo-Niagara Competition
- The College Honors Three Distinguished Alumni Award Winners in Chicago
- Alumni and Friends Help Fill the 88% Gap in College Funding
Students, Faculty, and Staff Continue the Tradition of Holiday Giving
One of the hallmarks of the College of Law community is its dedication to public service and philanthropy. This year, as in past years, the holiday season has motivated tremendous generosity by faculty, staff, and students.
First, I am delighted to report that under the energetic and dedicated leadership of Roger "Dee" Shonkwiler, the College's Senior Library Specialist for Acquisitions, the College's faculty and staff collectively donated $34,843 to the Campus Charitable Fund Drive--exceeding both last year's total of $30,523 and this year's targeted goal of $32,532. My thanks to my colleagues for their generosity, and to Dee for championing the important causes of the many local charities that collectively provide a safety net for those far less fortunate than ourselves.
I am also very pleased to tell you that in the midst of preparing for exams, our students have found remarkably valuable ways to bring cheer to those who face far greater challenges than remembering code sections or case holdings. This year, a majority of the College's 40-plus student organizations are perpetuating annual traditions that are dedicated to making the holidays happier for families in need. Here are just a handful of their many generous efforts:
The Class of 2009 Canned Food Drive: Each fall the three first-year class sections compete in collecting canned food items for a local food pantry. Section B stole the show, for the second year running, with 726 items. The friendly competition among sections inspired students, faculty, and staff to contribute well over 1,000 food items for the Eastern Illinois Food Bank. Great job Class of 2009!
The Angel Tree Project: Students responded enthusiastically to an invitation from the Christian Law Students' Association to participate in the Angel Tree Project and purchase Christmas gifts for local children whose parents are incarcerated. Scores of donated presents will be hand-delivered to brighten the holidays of 93 children from 36 Champaign-Urbana area families this year. This long-standing College of Law tradition warms, delights, and blesses many hearts and homes and the Christmas tree under which such presents are gathered in the Student Services lobby is already overflowing with brightly wrapped packages.
Make a Sandwich Day: The Asian-American Law Students' Association hosted "Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwich Day," inviting students to help assemble scores of sandwiches that were donated to the Times Center in Champaign.
Soap Drive: The Women's Law Society was absolutely delighted by this year's response to its "Soap Drive." The overflowing bins of donated soap products went to A Woman's Place, a local shelter for victims of domestic violence.
Holiday Clothing Drive: Needy families in the Shadowwood Mobile Home Community in Champaign will benefit from the Latino/Latina Law Students' Association's winter clothing drive. The organization has commenced its annual collection of gently used clothing and is well on its way to brightening the holidays of community members who so value what our community is able to give.
Alumnus Marshall Eisenberg '71 Funds the Thomas M. Mengler Faculty Scholar Position
It is a very great pleasure to be able to announce this month the generous benefactor who two years ago anonymously created the prestigious Thomas M. Mengler Faculty Scholar Position: Marshall Eisenberg '71, a partner with Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg in Chicago. Marshall funded this important research position as a means of both honoring his friend, former Dean Tom Mengler, and providing the College of Law with a crucial means by which to attract, reward, and retain top-flight legal scholars.
Marshall chairs his firm's Corporate and Securities Practice Group, serves on the firm's Executive Committee, and is a member of the firm's Corporate Governance, Private Wealth Services, Real Estate and Tax Practice Groups. He has an extensive background in mergers and acquisitions; real estate transactions; real estate investment trusts; estate planning and probate; federal, state and international taxation; securities offerings; joint venture formation; and venture capital. He has served on the College's Board of Visitors and has been a trusted advisor to College administrators over the past years.
Faculty scholar positions like the one established by Marshall are two year rotating faculty research positions that provide teaching relief and supplemental funding to faculty members who have research projects that can be significantly advanced by the opportunity to do intensive study and writing. The inaugural Thomas M. Mengler faculty scholar was John Colombo.
Thanks to Marshall's marvelous generosity, the College was able to invest Professor Richard Ross as the second Mengler Faculty Scholar at the large Chicago Alumni Luncheon that was held last month at the University Club. Former Dean Tom Mengler was in attendance and the occasion was a lovely celebration of his legacy and of the power of a faculty scholar position to inspire creative and interesting scholarly work. Our deepest thanks and sincere appreciation to Marshall Eisenberg for honoring the College's past and for fueling the agenda of excellence that defines its future!
A Broker of Services: A Profile of Assistant Dean Virginia Vermillion
This month, I want to tell you about, and say thank you to, one of the College's most dedicated and beloved senior administrators--a woman who gets few headlines and altogether too little thanks, but who devotes long hours week in and week out to ensuring that students are having the best experience they can possibly have during their years at the College of Law. Virginia Vermillion is the College's Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs and Student Services, a position that she has held for more than three years. She earned her B.A. (Honors) in Social Work from the University of Illinois in 1982 and her J.D. from the College of Law in 1986. As an Illinois law student, she was a Harno Scholarship recipient, a Rickert Scholar for Oral Advocacy, a finalist in the Frederick Green Moot Court Competition and in the Thomas Competition for Oral Advocacy, a third place recipient in the Client Counseling Competition, a member of the Moot Court Board of Editors, a Tribune for the Delta Theta Phi Legal Fraternity, and the recipient of the American Jurisprudence Award for Remedies.
Dean Vermillion practiced law in Chicago from 1987 to 1999, serving as an Associate and Partner with Gleason, McGuire & Shreffler, Haskell & Perrin, and Fedota, Childers & Rocca, P.C., concentrating her practice on insurance coverage litigation of environmental claims, asbestos injuries, medical implant losses, hearing losses, and cumulative trauma issues. Having become a seasoned litigator, she decided to return to her alma mater in 1999, serving as the College's Director of Career Services and Assistant Dean for Career Services before moving to her present position in 2003.
Dean Vermillion describes herself as a "broker of services"--someone who brings people together to solve problems and resolve conflicts, uniquely blending of her background and skills in social work and litigation. Assisted by her talented co-workers, Kelly Salefski and Shirley Shore (who she is quick to praise), Dean Vermillion has the weighty responsibilities of upholding the College's academic standards, administering its disciplinary processes, managing the many student awards, organizing and administering course and exam schedules, hosting Orientation and Convocation, and, most importantly, counseling the College's 650 students about matters that range from what courses to take to how best to cope with grave illness or a death in the family. By her own description--and by mine as well!--she is "a zealous advocate for students' rights and an eager protector of their interests" and she is always looking for ways to improve the experience of those who vest their hopes and dreams in an Illinois education.
Her favorite day every year is Convocation. "We've given our graduating students everything we can possibly give them and it is time for them to write the next chapter in their lives," said Dean Vermillion. "If we have done our job well, no one should notice us. Like good lawyers, we should be the invisible agents who make our clients shine as they move through an important life transition."
From all of us--students, faculty, staff, and alumni--thank you, Dean Vermillion, for all that you invisibly do to make the College such a warm and happy place to work and study!
Movie Stars, Mystery Writers, and Alumni: Edwin Adams '39 and George Chandler '55
One of the true joys of serving as Dean is the opportunity to meet wonderfully successful and interesting Illinois alumni who work throughout the United States and around the globe. During the last year, I had the opportunity to meet two of our many remarkable alumni that I would like to highlight in this month's newsletter, Edwin Adams '39 and George Chandler '55.
If I could write a movie script, I would base it on the remarkably interesting life of Edwin Adams '39. Ed spent his "first" illustrious career with the U.S. Foreign Service, advising ambassadors and presidents, tracking down Nazi assets, and negotiating peace treaties. During World War II, Ed worked for the State Department's World Trade Intelligence division and as a Navy gunnery officer in the Pacific theatre. After the war, he was the legal attaché to the Allied Commission, uncovering Nazi Germany assets hidden in Swiss bank accounts. As counselor to the U.S. Embassy in Rome, Ed negotiated U.S. air and naval base sites, personally advised President Dwight Eisenhower, and negotiated the treaty allowing Titan nuclear missiles to be located in Italy. He then worked in the Bureau of African Affairs, traveling extensively throughout Africa and negotiating trade, health, and agricultural agreements with Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, Zaire, Nigeria, The Ivory Coast, Senegal, and Morocco. And he concluded this still-first career as Special Assistant to the Deputy Under Secretary of State and Associate Dean of the Foreign Service Institute.
Isn't that enough life experience for one person? Not by Ed's measures. His "second" career was based in Hollywood where he appeared in 24 movies, including "Three Days of the Condor," "Airport '75," "Suspect," "The Seduction of Joe Tynan," and "The Last Detail." Ed was cast as a congressman, banker, doctor, and as a priest (7 times!). He wrote a TV series for NBC entitled "Venice, My Love" and four television shows for PBS on the social responsibility of business. And he starred in countless TV shows and was the national advertising spokesman for Ford Motor Company and Four Seasons Hotels. He befriended notables such as former U.S. Ambassador and Congresswoman Clare Boothe Luce and actress Gloria Swanson.
But did he stop there? No indeed. In his "third career" (and at the present age of 92), Ed has become an accomplished author, penning his autobiography, a wide variety of poetry, and a tremendous fictional book Petty Destiny, centering around the life of the remarkable Lady Mary Gordon, a brilliant and beautiful woman who lives to thwart the pernicious efforts of a vicious government. The book is set in Cairo, Egypt in 1952, a few weeks after the military coup that forces King Farouk to abdicate his throne.
I thought that Ed was perhaps unique in finally discovering that what he wanted to do when he grew up was write literature. But I was proved wrong when I came to know alumnus George Chandler '55. George spent his career with the U.S. Federal Government in Washington, D.C., joining the Interstate Commerce Commission after teaching at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. After a brief stint with the Department of Transportation and in private practice, George moved back to the ICC in 1970, eventually serving as Director of the Rail Services Planning Office, establishing the government's first public counsel operation to aid small shippers, short-line railroads, passengers, and local communities during the railroad restructuring process.
He retired from the ICC in 1996, and is a fantastically prolific source of comic verse, poetry, and newsletter articles. He recently handed me his ninth (yes, ninth!) mystery novel, Paying the Piper, centered around his hero sleuth, Sergeant Harry Willis of the Flaxboro, Virginia Town Police Department. This gripping novel follows a twisting, turning investigation into the murder of a local blackmailer with the Fairfax County and Washington, D.C. police forces.
For your holiday enjoyment I am including here one of George's most lively latest works--a parody of King Gama's first act song from the Gilbert and Sullivan opera Princess Ida.
If you give me your attention, I will tell you what I am:
Self-confident; a polymath, whose learning is no sham.
To lecture to my fellows is my principal delight.
In politics, for instance, I like telling them what's right.
I try, of course, to nudge my friends a little to the left
In hope the underclasses won't forever be bereft.
My pronouncements are didactic, and I've always got a plan,
Yet everybody says I'm such a disagreeable man—
And I can't think why.
In painting and in sculpture I know just what's best of all,
Though my eyesight is so weak that I can hardly find the wall.
As for lit'rature I'll never keep my hearers in the dark,
For I know our last great novel was Jane Austen's Mansfield Park.
But it's actually in music I like best the tune to call,
Bach and Mozart are the finest, and Tchaikowsky is banal.
I display my erudition in whatever way I can,
Yet everybody says I'm such a disagreeable man—
And I can't think why.
I have memorized our presidents and lots of other things;
I can name the plays of Shakespeare and the dates of England's kings.
I'm up on English syntax; I quote Greek and Latin, too;
I am able to recite a ream of poems—and I do.
From grammar school, I still know how to do my long division.
I look upon a Major Gen'ral's knowledge with derision.
My punctuation's perfect, and my verses always scan,
Yet everybody says I am a disagreeable man—
And I can't think why.
"Illinois Law" Continues to Examine Leading Legal Issues in the News
The University of Illinois College of Law, in cooperation with WCIA-TV (CBS), produces a biweekly 30-minute television program "Illinois Law," on legal issues in the news. This is the only television show produced by a law school in the United States and it airs on Sunday mornings at 10:00 am on WCIA-TV and across the state on the 90-station Illinois Network.
The program is the brainchild of Dave Johnson, the College's energetic Assistant Dean for Communications, and is distributed statewide by former C-Span producer Terry Martin. It is hosted by longtime television reporter and anchor Professor Amy Gajda, who holds a joint appointment in Journalism and Law at Illinois, and it features College of Law faculty and alumni, University experts, and authorities from different fields of law, business, and politics. This fall, "Illinois Law" has tackled a wide range of subjects, including Tax Reform, Bankruptcy, International Trade and Political Scandal, the U.S. Supreme Court, the 2006 Elections, World Constitutions, and Caring for the Aging, featuring more than a dozen faculty members, alumni, students, and national political celebrities.
The Fall Trial Team Advances to "Sweet Sixteen" at Buffalo-Niagara Competition
The University of Illinois College of Law Trial Team, consisting of third-year students Michelle Chen, Sarah Holst, Antonio Martinez, Matt Mueller, Jane Ryan, Joe Smith, Bill Swallow, and Ken Wang, recently competed in two national mock trial invitational competitions held at the Michigan State University College of Law and the University of Buffalo-Niagara College of Law. With 40 teams from 18 states participating in the preliminary rounds, Illinois advanced to the "Sweet Sixteen" and displayed excellent trial skills.
The Trial Team is coached by Director of Trial Advocacy Steve Beckett and Adjunct Professor Scott Kording. The University of Illinois Fall Trial Team will be joined in the spring national competitions by six new members: Jordan Ault, John Keller, Jonathan Ksiazek, Adisa Krupaljia, Beibei Que, and Sarah Tomkowiak.
This spring, the College will host its second consecutive Region 8 National Trial Competition, scheduled for February 15-17 at the Champaign County Courthouse and at the United States District Courthouse in Urbana. If you are interested in volunteering to help out with the competition, please contact Diana Marshall, the Trial Advocacy Faculty Assistant at dmarsha@law.uiuc.edu.
The College Honors Three Distinguished Alumni Award Winners in Chicago
The College honored three prominent alumni at the November Chicago Alumni Reception and Luncheon--Mr. Ronald H. Galowich '59, Judge Marilyn K. Johnson '79, and Mr. Daniel I. Schlessinger '78. Since 1966, the College has presented the Distinguished Alumnus Award to College graduates who have brought great distinction to the College of Law by leading lives of professional achievement and community service. None could better personify the values reflected in this award than the three award winners whose remarkable accomplishments were proudly celebrated before a room full of alumni, friends, family members, and other special guests in Chicago's beautiful University Club.
Alumni and Friends Help Fill the 88% Gap in College Funding
The philanthropic support of alumni and friends has multiplied in significance over the past several years as the State's contribution to the College of Law has dropped to a mere 12 percent of its annual operating budget. With only 12% of our funds coming from the State, we have struggled to fill an 88% gap the only way we can--through an aggressive fundraising campaign and, regrettably, through substantial tuition increases. This year, in-state tuition is $18,102 and out-of-state tuition is $29,308! (How much was tuition in your day?) In an effort to curb the escalation of tuition costs, we are eager to enlist the support of those who care about the future of the College of Law. And we thank all of you who have responded so generously! Many of the bright and talented students who fill our classes would not be here were it not for generous private scholarship support, and many of the innovative curricular experiments and exciting research projects for which the College is known would not be possible without the selfless support of those who understand that a great school is synonymous with a great research faculty.
At this time of year when many of you consider your annual gift to the College, I urge you to take a leadership role in crafting our future. As of mid-November, our alumni and friends had responded to our call for support by providing an amazing 16% increase to our Law School Annual Fund over the same period last year. However, we still have a long way to go before we reach our $700,000 Annual Fund goal this year.
If you have not already made a contribution to the College this year, please help us advance the ambitious agenda that we have set for your alma mater by giving a gift at a leadership society level online at http://www.law.uiuc.edu/content/give/index.asp or by contacting our development office at 217-333-2628.
With that, I will wish you all a marvelous holiday season. I will lift a tin mug to all of you over the New Year from the remote Valdivian Rainforest of Southern Chile, where my father and I will be celebrating his 80th Birthday by rafting the infamous Futaleufu River, which boasts the largest white-water that is commercially runnable on the planet--days of Class V rapids with gargantuan hydraulics that are enough to send any sane person back to the Ivory Tower! I hope that your holidays to come are filled with the same blessings that my family will be celebrating over the winter break--loving family members, close friends, traditional food, good health, and happy life adventures.
Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanzaa, and best for the holidays,
Heidi M. Hurd
December 2006-January 2007
December 14, 3:00-4:00 p.m., Huizenga Commons: Faculty/Staff Annual Holiday Party. Food and beverages will be provided. Musical performance by "The Girls Next Door."
January 10-11, 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m., Illini Center, 200 S. Wacker Drive, Chicago: Winter Chicago Off-Campus Interview Program. College of Law Students will have the opportunity to interview for summer associate and permanent positions with Chicago area employers. Employers interested in participating in the Winter Chicago OCI Program should complete the registration form at http://www.law.uiuc.edu/content/careers/pdf/employers/offcampus_interview_registration.pdf and return the form to the Office of Career Services before December 15. For more information contact Amanda Lindemann at 217-265-5345 or lindemnn@law.uiuc.edu.
January 17, 2:00-3:00 p.m., Room 200: Deans' Open Forum. Students are invited to join Dean Hurd and Assistant Dean Virginia Vermillion for an open discussion of College matters.
January 18, 12:00-1:00 p.m., Room C: Lunch with Alumni from Los Angeles. You are invited to have lunch with visiting alumni for an informal discussion about the Los Angeles legal market and lifestyle. Lunch will be provided to the first 60 students. For more information contact Amanda Lindemann at 217-265-5345 or lindemnn@law.uiuc.edu.
January 18, 4:00-6:00 p.m., Pedersen Pavilion: Peer's Pub: Great American Cities Program featuring Los Angeles. Students have the opportunity to introduce themselves to visiting alumni and enjoy delicious food and beverages from the Los Angeles area. For more information contact Amanda Lindemann at 217-265-5345 or lindemnn@law.uiuc.edu.
January 19, 12:00-1:00 p.m., Max L. Rowe Auditorium: U.S. Navy Lieutenant Commander Charles Swift, Hamdan v. Rumsfeld. Sponsored by the Program in Criminal Law & Procedure. Lt. Cdr. Swift is a decorated Navy officer and JAG lawyer whom the military detailed to represent Salim Ahmed Hamdan, a personal driver to Osama Bin Laden, before military commissions charging Hamdan with conspiracy to commit terrorism. This summer, the U.S. Supreme Court accepted Swift's claim that the military commissions were not lawfully constituted. In June 2006, the National Law Journal named Swift as one of "The 100 most influential lawyers in America."
January 23, 12:00-1:00 p.m., Room 202D: Student Lunch with Dean Hurd. Students are welcome to stop by Room 202E to sign-up to have lunch with Dean Hurd.
January 27, 8:00 am-6:00 pm, Max L. Rowe Auditorium: 2007 Alumni-Student Career Conference. Sponsored by the Recent Alumni Advisory Board and Office of Career Services. For more information, please contact Amanda Lindemann in Career Services at (217) 377-6322 or lindemnn@law.uiuc.edu.
