Mary Herrington
Sunday was church as usual followed by breakfast with the Breakfast Bunch at Sunset Grill in Springdale, which I’ve described before in previous blog postings. It was also a day spent unpacking from the previous week’s trip and preparing for Monday.
The next day, Monday, January 12, began with Claudia and Pilates first thing in the morning at 7:00 a.m. It was also Mary Herrington’s birthday. Happy Birthday, Mary! During the day I returned a number of phone calls because the messages had accumulated over the break and while I was on vacation. We had a faculty meeting at noon during which it was our pleasure to host John Mayer, Executive Director of the Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction (CALI). He gave the faculty a terrific presentation on the way that technology is being used in legal education. For example, he talked about podcasting class lectures. Most of the students who’d used this technology indicated they found it helpful. It’s more flexible than videotaping because students can listen at any time rather than having to sit in front of a screen to watch the lecture. He also mentioned the movement towards digital textbooks. Lulu is a program that can print a 500 page book for about $19 shipped. John also demonstrated software called Instapoll which can be used in class to obtain students’ votes on various responses. It was great to have him share his knowledge of teaching technology with us.
CALI Executive Director John Mayer
Monday was also my monthly meeting with the Provost. I’d missed my December meeting because of my vacation, so we had lots to catch up on. At the end of the day, I went to a meeting of the Women of Distinction Planning Committee for the Girl Scout Council in Northwest Arkansas, which was held at the Girl Scout headquarters. Although classes hadn’t started, it was the first day back for University staff. It was a pretty busy first day back.
Tuesday morning, January 13, I had an opportunity to meet with John Mayer who had given us that fascinating presentation the day before. He is also helping us to think about the most efficient way to structure our technology services. We appreciate his visit to the law school and his help in thinking things through. He has consulted with many law schools, and his experience will be a great benefit to us. Lunch that day was with the Academic Deans’ Group, which consists of the Provost and the deans: Carolyn Allen, Linda Beene, Collis Geren, Reed Greenwood, Ashok Saxena, Jeff Shannon, Dan Worrell, Lalit Verma, Bill Schwab, Suzanne McCray, and myself. We didn’t have a set agenda for the meeting, but the focus was on the economy and its potential impact on the University and our various academic units. Throughout the school year, each dean takes a turn hosting the lunch. Our host for the month of January was the Graduate School, Dean Collis Geren. He sprung for a nice lunch at Bordinos. The conversation was pretty serious, somber I guess I’d say, but also very helpful, particularly the reflections of deans who had previously been through tough economic times before.
Left - Ben Shipley, Right - Scott Zuerker
Later that evening was the first Inn of Court meeting of the new year. The topic was “Decay and Marcyniuk and the Death Penalty in Washington County.” It was a terrific presentation. The students who participated were Wayne Williams, Jennifer Chunn, Emily Reynolds, and David Hogue. Judge Bill Storey, John Threet (Washington County Prosecutor), and also W.H. Taylor (Taylor Law Partners) were also speakers. The students presented the history of the death penalty in Washington County, an overview of each of the two cases, suppression issues in both cases, and aggravating and litigating certain circumstances in both cases. Decay and Marcyniuk were two death penalty cases tried in Washington County. Judge Storey, John Threet and W.H. Taylor were courtroom participants in both trials. The forepersons of the juries – Elaine King in the Decay case and Amy Savoie in the Marcyniuk case – were present as well and shared their impressions as jury forepersons. The trial participants talked about their
Left - Professor D'lorah Hughes, Right - Eva Madison
perspectives as Prosecuting Attorney, judge, and defense counsel. Then we heard from the jury forepersons. It was a very well done and very interesting presentation, one of the best since I’ve been a member of the Inn of Court. Thanks to Prof. Leflar who helped organize the program. In addition to the terrific program, I always enjoy attending the Inn of Court because I like hanging out with the Bar, finding out what’s going on in the legal community, and visiting with friends and colleagues informally. I recommend that you consider applying for membership in Inn of Court because it’s a good way to meet the judges and lawyers in your local legal community informally and to network with them.
Nancecy 