Message from Laura Herr ’03, Associate Dean, Development, Alumni Relations
The past year has been incredible in many ways—even beyond the adjustments we all made to life, work, and family because of the pandemic. Educational institutions had to shift to new platforms, reconsider the term “education,” and develop new methods for engaging and mentoring students in a virtual world. Likewise, our students had to undertake a very different law school journey from that experienced by any class in the school’s history. This was a year of firsts for AUWCL. As a community, we made it through together. THANK YOU! Your support and dedication have made this year of unpredictability feel stable and certain for us all.
You helped us meet the challenge to support our students. While tragic, the pandemic coupled with a series of political and national events has reaffirmed the vital role of legal education. As a community, we must remain committed to supporting one another so that we can continue to provide access to legal education, attract and retain top faculty, and create programs that allow our students to graduate as leaders in their profession.
Your support makes this possible. You are the leaders and champions of AUWCL. That was demonstrated in this year’s Champions Challenge. Hearing the call for support, we doubled our alumni participation this year. And we did it all in the face of many, many challenges.
Furthermore, as members of our alumni community, you joined us on many adventures. You took part in career and professional development webinars, participated in original events like WCL-NOW, and helped us celebrate amazing moments virtually— Women and the Law Leadership Celebration; ADA at 30. In addition, you have volunteered to mentor fellow alumni, participated in prospective student panels, engaged with our programs as advisory members, and more. For all of this, we thank you.
Your level of engagement and support has been fueled by a desire for AUWCL to be successful. That desire was further evinced by your participation in this year’s dean’s search process. Thank you to everyone who met our finalists—your feedback and commentary were essential. After a successful year under the leadership of Acting Dean Robert Dinerstein, AUWCL named Roger A. Fairfax, Jr. as dean, with a July 1, 2021 start date. There is an energy in the air of new beginnings. While this year was a series of firsts for AUWCL, I hope you will stay tuned for what’s in store in 2021 and beyond.
Best wishes to you and yours,
LAURA HERR ’03
ASSOCIATE DEAN, DEVELOPMENT AND ALUMNI RELATIONS