Law school new center of attention at UNLV

Monday, Sept. 30, 2002 | 9:53 a.m.

The William Boyd School of Law was officially dedicated Friday in the center of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas campus, and that's just where it should be, Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy said.

"At different times of the day the students of many disciplines are walking around and surrounding the law school, and that's how it should be because the law is at the heart of our culture," Kennedy said in his address to a crowd of about 500 at the dedication ceremony.

Students and faculty moved into the building, housed in the new James E. Rogers Center for Administration and Justice, in July from its home since its opening in 1998 at the old Paradise Elementary School site across Tropicana Avenue from the Thomas & Mack Center.

The new facility once housed the school's library, which has since moved into a new building.

Kennedy spent the end of last week visiting the school and teaching students before serving as keynote speaker at the dedication.

Doug Seastrand, chairman of the Board of Regents, recalled the years in the old Paradise Elementary facility.

"It was a humble beginning, but Richard Morgan (the school's dean) didn't apologize," Seastrand said. "The dean told me then: 'It's not the building that makes a difference, it's what's inside.'

"The school has done very well in the difficult times at Paradise Elementary, and I can only imagine what they are going to do in this building."

The law school has applied for accreditation from the American Bar Association, and could receive accreditation as early as February. The school also expects to become a member of the Association of American Law Schools in 2004, Morgan said.