University of Idaho Law Faculty
February, 2003

The University of Idaho College of Law provides a strong, comprehensive legal education in a unique environment. By making focused investments of additional resources in identified areas of excellence, the College can become a nationally recognized and regionally preeminent leader in legal education. To achieve these goals the College will:

• Strengthen basic foundations regarding instructional class size, the student body, and external communication

• Broaden and deepen currently recognized areas of emphasis and expertise.

• Incorporate into the curriculum critical perspectives, skills, and values.

New resources, both public and private, will be needed to achieve these goals. The faculty and administration of the College of Law are committed to building upon and improving the existing program at the College.

THE FOUNDATIONS

The small student body and residential setting of the College of Law create a learning environment that enables our students to develop a special sense of professional calling and to fulfill their individual potential. To obtain national recognition and regional preeminence, the College will build upon this unique environment. By adding faculty, reducing instructional class sizes, and expanding the curriculum, the College will provide a distinctively rich and intimate learning experience. The College will be able to attract the best and brightest students from Idaho and elsewhere. The singular nature of the learning experience at Idaho also will attract students of diverse cultures and backgrounds, further enriching the education received by our students.

These developments, and the synergies created, must be made known to prospective students and external constituencies through expanded institutional communications. In sum, the College will strengthen its foundations by:

• Improving its faculty/student ratio through smaller class sizes and expanded curricular offerings.

• Attracting a more diverse and highly qualified student body.

• More widely publicizing the unique educational opportunities offered by the College.

AREAS OF EMPHASIS

The College’s existing principal areas of substantive focus - Advocacy and Dispute Resolution, Business Law and Entrepreneurship, and Environmental Law and Natural Resources - reflect areas historically considered to be strengths at the College. These areas match the needs of our state and region.

In expanding course offerings in the future, the College will build upon this base to take advantage of interdisciplinary opportunities with other University programs, notably in natural resources law and policy, but also with the College of Business and Economics, the Martin Peace Institute, and other colleges and universities in our region. The College will complement its program with urban experiences for its students in Boise and other metropolitan areas in the Northwest. Combining the residential study of law with innovative programming in urban settings will create signature educational experiences in the business, advocacy, and natural resource areas.

Building upon a solid base and taking advantage of unique opportunities presented by the University, state, and region, the College will leverage additional resources to develop depth and expertise in these areas:

• Advocacy and Appropriate Dispute Resolution

• Business Law and Entrepreneurship

• Environmental and Natural Resources Law and Policy

PERSPECTIVES AND VALUES

The College of Law is preparing its students to be lawyers and leaders in the 21^st century. Law and legal training for the 21^st century cannot be neatly compartmentalized.

Global perspectives pervade our society and, increasingly, our legal system. The College will prepare our students by providing international perspectives throughout the curriculum as an integral part of the law school educational experience.

Similarly, the ubiquitous presence of technology, not only as a part of the actual practice of law, but also as an influence on the development of the law and legal principles, necessitates a conscious inclusion of the impacts of technological developments in the curriculum. Whether through skills training in the use of courtroom technologies or through the recognition of how technology affects the analysis of established and seemingly settled legal doctrine, our students will be exposed to the myriad impacts of technology as part of their education.

Finally, as legal practitioners and scholars, our students must be firmly grounded in the skills and values of the profession, as well as the calling of public service and civic leadership that

inheres in the legal profession. An ethos of service and commitment to the public good are touchstones of the legal profession, and will be reflected pervasively in the educational experience of our students.

To best prepare our students as 21^st century lawyers and leaders, the College will inform the entire curriculum with:

• Global Perspectives.

• Impacts of Technological Developments.

• Professional Skills, Values, and Civic Leadership

CONCLUSION

By investing in foundations of excellence in legal education, by strengthening strategic areas of emphasis and expertise, and by exposing our students to the skills, values, and perspectives that will enrich their professional lives, the University of Idaho College of Law can achieve regional preeminence and national recognition. By doing so it can earn a distinctive place in legal education as the nation’s best small state law school.