Monday was a very quiet day, beginning with Pilates as usual. There was an interesting display on campus. In its seventh year, “The Campus Clothesline Project” was be on display from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily April 21-25 in the courtyard between the Arkansas Union and Mullins Library. The project began in 2001 with 80 T-shirts donated and decorated by university students, staff and faculty displaying messages of hope and support, risk reduction strategies, awareness facts, and messages from survivors. “The Campus Clothesline Project” has now grown into an emotional exhibit that featured more than 1,500 T-shirts hanging as a unified voice against sexual assault and relationship violence. Ironically, we also had a traveling exhibit promoting safe sex the first day of the exhibit.

Tuesday was a little bit quiet around the law school. The highlight of that day was an end of the year reception for the Journal of Food Law & Policy which was held at University House. It was lovely. Jennifer Fiser, the outgoing Editor-in-Chief, presented certificates to members. Prof. Schneider announced the recipient of the Arent Fox award. This award is generously sponsored by the Arent Fox law firm in Washington, DC. Senator Dale Bumpers serves as counsel to the firm and is responsible for the creation of the Arent Fox award. This year’s winner of the award was Christina Fox, for her article entitled Teach a Man: Proactively Battling Food Insecurity by Increasing Access to Local Foods. She began her article with the ancient Chinese Proverb, “Give a man a fish you have fed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you have fed him for a lifetime.” Applying this to an analysis of the problem of food insecurity, she argued that government needs to not only provide resources to meet the immediate needs of hunger and poverty, it must also expand access to fresh local foods in areas of poverty and educate consumers about the importance of nutritional choices. The 2008-09 Editorial Board was also announced at the reception: Emily Reynolds, Editor-in-Chief; Heather Sutton, Executive Editor; Christina Fox, Articles Editor; and Conner McNair and John Pesek, Note & Comment Editors. Thanks to the folks who attended including Rhonda Adams, Rob Leflar (who gave the closing remarks), Susan Schneider, Bob Moberly, Lonnie Beard, Howard Brill, and Janet Flaccus

Saturday morning bright and early, I met Prof. Judges in the lobby of the Peabody Hotel in Little Rock and we headed down to UAPB (University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff) to participate in the “Choose Law” program. The “Choose Law” program is a pipeline program encouraging minority high school students to envision, commit to, and prepare for a career in law. As I noted in yesterday’s blog, the program was put on by the Arkansas Bar Association Young Lawyers Section and the committee included Gwen Rucker, Cliff McKinney, Courtney Crouch, Paul Bennett, Aaron Taylor, Emily Runyon, Grant Cox, and David Coran. When we arrived, a number of young people were there already and were picking up their materials and taking their seats in the auditorium.

Hank Campbell, Dean of the College of Business at UAPB, gave the welcome on behalf of the Chancellor of UAPB who was unable to attend. Rosalind Mouser, President-Elect of the Arkansas Bar Association, also welcomed young people and talked about the value of a law degree. The first panel at 9:30 a.m. was on preparing and choosing a college. The panelists talked about financial aid issues and the SAT versus the ACT. After a break the second panel spoke on preparing for, and choosing a law school. That panel consisted of myself, Prof. Judges, and Aaron Taylor, Chief Admissions Officer at UALR School of Law. It began with an American Bar Association video entitled “Choose Law” which talked about the importance of law and why young people choose legal careers.

After our panel there was a panel with a number of current law students. Two of our students, I’m delighted to say, participated in that session, Dannelle Walker and Sharre Brooks. The other students were from UALR. That was followed by a panel of members from the Harold Flowers Law Society, Arkansas’ National Bar Association affiliate chapter. They talked about what it was like to be a practicing lawyer of color and the difference one can make. The most powerful statement was made by Gwen Rucker who talked about a young man she knew who was convicted unjustly of murder and how that motivated her to become a lawyer. This was followed by a question and answer session.

During the luncheon one of our alumna, Karen Roberts, was the keynote speaker. She received, from the program’s sponsors, a recognition for Wal-Mart on behalf of its diversity effort. In her remarks she again emphasized why it was important to obtain a law degree and what a difference the students could make in the world. With that we were adjourned, but I have to note that during the lunch hour before the program actually began, there was a showing of the Silas Hunt video. I was actually surprised at how quiet the students were and how interested they were in terms of watching the video. We were glad to be able provide that.

After that Don and I said goodbye to everyone and headed back to Fayetteville. But, here I want to put in a plug for Prof. Judges. He’s too modest to do so himself. In addition to all the ways in which he contributes to the law school community, he is a playwright. The name of his play is “Radio Traffic” and it’s co-written with Stephen Cribari. The play is being produced and staged in Minneapolis at The Center for Independent Artists on May 8-10 and May 15-17. He had talked to me about it before and we got to visit about it some more on the way back to Fayetteville. I wish I could break away to go and see it, but the 15th– 17th is tied up with all our graduation events and the 8th–10th, the University graduation events, during which I’ve been asked to escort one of the “Little Rock Nine,” Terrence Roberts. If you want to check it out, there is a MySpace.com page about the play. It’s http://www.myspace.com/c4ia. Congratulations, Prof. Judges! You are such a wonderful, multi-talented colleague. I hope you “break a leg,” (isn’t it what you say in a theater?) and I that it receives wonderful reviews and goes on to be produced more fully across the country.

The visit of the Arkansas Bar Association Law School Committee began at 9:00 in the morning. The Law School Committee visits both law schools to catch up on what is happening and to provide feedback to the administration of both schools. The committee visits with different faculty members and staff, talks with students, and gives us their impression on how things are going and what we might do better. I began the morning with a law school update. Susan Schell talked about our Career Services area and her ideas for the future and the status of our hiring. She also shared the most recent statistics with the Committee.

After that, Prof. Karen Koch talked about the development of a new course “Animal Law” to be taught this summer and how it was a natural fit with our agricultural law program and center, as well as with the College of Agriculture. Mike Mullane shared with the Committee the various clinical offerings we have and the new faculty members joining us in the clinic area; Steve Sheppard shared information about his scholarship; Tim Tarvin talked about and demonstrated Legal e-Source; Susan Williams talked about the pro bono program and its development; and, Carl Circo shared information about the Habitat for Humanity Wills Project. Editors of each of our three journals: Suzanne Clark (Arkansas Law Review), Jennifer Fiser (Journal of Food Law & Policy), and Robert Depper (Journal of Islamic Law & Culture) gave presentations to the committee, then they had lunch with students.

After lunch, Chancellor-Elect Dave Gearhart came and spoke with them about his vision for the University and the most recent developments on campus. In closing remarks, I shared with them an update on the various ways in which we are reaching out to touch alums. For example, we had the networking event (which many of them attended), the 50+ year reunion, the e-Blast (e-newsletter we send out), the blog, the updated website, and the fact that we send out birthday cards and Valentine cards (when both husband and wife are our alums). I talked about the fact that we will be sending out an e-Blast for specific important alerts that we want to get to our alumni and also the fact that we’re thinking about being more strategic about our alumni magazine

They gave me their feedback and shared concerns raised by the students. There were concerns about career services specifically that we reach out to smaller firms and to larger firms. Another concern was that the wireless internet is not as dependable as it should be. There were comments about the registration this year. Students suggested we make it clearer which classes would be helpful to prepare for a practice in certain areas of law. We’re going to look at that as well as perhaps videotaping the registration presentation given by Assistant Dean Rhonda Adams so that if students are unable to attend they can view that presentation later. We are grateful to the members of the Law School Committee who take time out of their busy professional lives to come see and be with us, and to share with us their ideas, thoughts and concerns about the law school. Thank you very much. We look forward to seeing them officially again next year, or before that at upcoming law school events. My special thanks to David Whitaker, the Chair of the Committee, who helped coordinate the timing of the committee’s visit.

While the Law School Committee was with our students, I attended the lunch time presentation of Prof.Krotoszynski. He spoke on the topic “how to integrate diversity into public schools after the Court’s recent pronouncements on the legitimacy of diversity as a basis for integration.” It was a really interesting topic and because of the size of the group, we were able to have a pretty rigorous discussion and exchange. He has a wonderful, wicked sense of humor in addition to his intellect. Thanks to Prof. Dodson for hosting him. I hope he enjoyed his visit to Fayetteville

After we wrapped up with the Law School Committee visit it was time to hit the road to Little Rock in preparation for a visit to the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff on Saturday for the “Choose Law” program given by the Arkansas Bar Association Young Lawyers Section. On the way there I stopped over in Little Rock where I would connect with Prof. Don Judges who was flying in from a meeting. We would drive the next morning to UAPB

Thursday, April 17, I hit the ground running with a meeting with Chancellor-Elect Gearhart and the Deans. That meeting lasted about an hour and a half, after which we had a faculty meeting. That afternoon I received a wonderful, wonderful surprise. My good friend from law school, Mary Wallace Benton, and her husband Tim just walked into the building. I had not seen Mary since 1995 when I attended her wedding, so it had been a very long time. Prof. Kathryn Sampson is another classmate of ours. I was able to visit with Mary and Tim as well as her sister and brother-in-law. We toured the building and I got to catch up with them about everything that had been happening in their lives. It was a delightful surprise.

After that, I had a chance to visit with the Arkansas Bar Association Young Lawyers Executive Board whomet in the building. It was great to see them too. Amy Freedman, our alum, is currently the President of that Section and they have been very active. They were responsible for putting together the “Rule of Law” program. They also are putting on a “Choose Law” program down in Pine Bluff which Prof. Judges and I will attend on the 19^th. We were delighted to host their meeting and it was good that I was able to visit with them a little bit. One an exciting note, Amy has just been named the national Chair of the Children and the Law Committee for the American Bar Association through the ABA Young Lawyer’s Division. Congratulations, Amy.

Thursday was a truly very busy day. I had to leave the company of the Young Lawyers and head to the courtroom because we had our Hartman Hotz speaker, Prof. Krotoszynski. He presented a lecture on free speech norm creation at the global level. It was very, very interesting. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to catch the entire lecture, but what I did sit in on, I enjoyed very much.

The day didn’t end after that! We had our first annual “Meet the Lawyers” event which was held at the Ozark Mountain Smokehouse on Dickson Street. Talk about a fabulous turnout! There were a number of lawyers from all over Northwest Arkansas, a good number of students came out, and everyone who attended the event had a fabulous time. It was a great, informal opportunity for students to meet local lawyers and to talk with them about their careers, and to get advice. What a fantastic event! Thanks goes to Malcolm McNair who put that event together, and to Teri Stafford who brought the idea with her from a similar experience.

The Arkansas Bar Association Law School Committee wasalso in town that day because we would meet with them on Friday, April 18. The members who arrived early were able to attend the networking event. They thought it was such a worthwhile gathering that they would like us to host it in conjunction with their meeting every time they are visiting us. That evening the Law School Committee had dinner at Bordinos with the faculty members who would be presenting to them the next day. The faculty members who attended were Karen Koch who was presenting on her class in animal law; Bobbi and Carl Circo who talked about our wills project; and Tim Tarvin who explained Legal e-Source. The Committee enjoyed very much the ambiance and the food at Bordinos. The first course menu consisted of either crisp romaine lettuce and rich Caesar dressing with shaved Grana Padano Parmesan Cheese and herbed Croutons; or Mandarin Oranges, candied Pecans, crumbled Goat Cheese and crispy Petit Jean Bacon with Spinach dressed in a Sherry Vinaigrette. The second course was Grilled Tasmanian Salmon and Tomatillo Salsa with Broccoli and sauteéd Spinach; Grilled Beef Tenderloin and Gorgonzola Butter with roasted Bell Pepper Mashed Potatoes and grilled Asparagus; and Portobello Mushroom Lasagna with Ricotta Béchamel, Mozzarella, smoked Gouda and a rich Pesto Sauce. For dessert there was white chocolate crème brûlée and chocolate cake. It was a wonderful evening with lots of fellowship, conversation, laughter and sharing. We appreciate the members of the Law School Committee who took time out of their very busy schedules to meet with us, to hear what’s going on about the law school, and to provide us with their wisdom and guidance as to ways in which they would suggest that we could consider improving the law school. We are very fortunate to have such an involved and caring group of lawyers come to visit the law school and share their insight with us.

Monday—you guessed it!—began bright and early at Pilates with Claudia. Right afterwards I headed to the dentist’s office for my check-up with Dr. Walt Henderson. Though I like my dentist, I don’t really enjoy going. He gave me the terrible news that I will need a crown, so I (probably wrongly) put that appointment off until after graduation because I’m not looking forward to it. Anyway, it’s a blessing that I have dental insurance and I’m grateful for that. I just really don’t like to go to the dentist. Sorry Dr. Henderson, you’re a great guy, but . . . also no offense to 3L Rick Hebar, a terrific person and dentist in another life.

At noon we had strategic planning meeting in the law school. I think I mentioned in an earlier blog posting that we were focusing the most recent sessions on scholarship. It was a very open and thoughtful conversation. I thank my colleagues for their participation and for helping to steer the future of the law school.

The exciting news that I failed to mention earlier is that late last week Jesús Moroles’ work crew showed up and they have been working diligently on the courtyard. (I do have some pictures of the progress of the courtyard and them working out there.) We are really excited to see Dreamscape take shape and happy to have them back and to see the progress under way.

Jim Phillips, one of our alums, who I spend a lot of time with at football games visiting in his skybox, stopped by this afternoon. It was great to see him. Thanks very much, Jim, for coming up. Don’t be a stranger. After he left I played a little catch-up behind my desk.

Tuesday was also a relatively quiet day. We had a faculty meeting at which a student requested credit for spending a semester at an international law school. The faculty had a full discussion about this request, and as a result, we will probably have a committee look at this issue. We haven’t had this request of this nature previously, at least in my time on the faculty. The faculty agreed that this is something that we should look at more carefully and we will do that, but we gave the student a tentative okay.

Later that afternoon I met with Don Pederson. It was actually good to have the Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration visit. We toured the building and I showed him some of the changes. Vice Chancellor Pederson has been a good friend to me since I first joined the University of Arkansas’ faculty. I remember many years ago when Margaret Clark and I went to him with an idea for an interdisciplinary paper and speech abroad. He graciously provided his support. I could never have afforded to go without that help. Aside from that he has always been a helpful colleague and mentor. I appreciate him, the guidance he give me and the time he took to visit.

That evening I went back (yes, I know) to Curves for Women. I hadn’t been in so long that my routine was off and when I got done, quite frankly, I was so tired that I walked out and left my suit. But at least I’m getting back on track!

On Saturday morning all the participants of the women’s Leadership Retreat gathered in the main lodge in the restaurant for breakfast. After a quick meal, we met in a small meeting room and listened to a presentation on the Rockefeller Foundation by Annett Pagan. Her talk was followed by a very interesting, lively and thoughtful discussion about development issues in the Arkansas Delta, the need for education and the challenges that inhibit economic development.

We also learned about a very interesting sweet potato project in the Delta. Sweet potatoes are a high cash crop for the farmers, but a special infrastructure needed to be designed and built in order to support the sweet potato project. Mary Good also updated us on technological progress in Arkansas, some of the new projects that the state is hoping to develop, and discussed the more interesting start-up companies around the state. I’m really glad I was there because I learned a lot about economic development in our state. Afterwards we had lunch and departed for home.

The weekend was a relatively quiet one. I came back from Petit Jean Mountain and by that evening I just could not drag myself out to Leflarfest or the African students’ banquet. Instead I just spent a quiet evening with my mom. The next day was church followed by breakfast with the church breakfast bunch. We went down to El Camino Real on South School. They have a very cheap, very good breakfast with a Mexican flavor. I had a breakfast burrito that had eggs, cheese, chorizo and beans and it was delicious. I asked to have it covered with cheese and sauce, enchilada style. My mom had a ham and cheese burrito. Some of the other folks with us had chorizo on scrambled eggs with cheese and tortillas. It was really a good meal. I would recommend it, especially if you’re on a budget!

That evening my mom treated me to a wonderful event. It was a concert at the Walton Arts Center with Bobby McFerrin, Chick Corea and Jack DeJohnette. What great fun! At times there was a cacophony of sound, but it all pulled together. The artists used their bodies, voices, the sides of the drums and the top of the piano—everything that was tangible, really—as an instrument. They also switched places, so that Jack DeJohnette would play the piano and Chick Corea would play the drums, or Chick Corea would sing and Bobby McFerrin would be on the drums. It was just a hoot! They are three very, very talented musicians who enjoyed being in each other’s company and who had a lot of fun performing together. Bobby McFerrin drew in the audience by asking us to sing, chant and vocalize. We saw Don Judges and Chandana Becker there too. Don pointed out how easily McFerrin was able to communicate without the use of language through sounds, vocalizations and body language. It was just a wonderful concert. Thanks, Mom!

I want to start this entry with a big “thank you!” to Kathy Sampson for the beautiful spring pictures she sent.

Friday was relatively quiet although we had a bittersweet event. We held a farewell party for Josh Malone, who is leaving us to take a job at Notre Dame. He and his wife, Dacia, are expecting their first child in August. We wish them the very best in their new undertaking and their new life. Josh always greeted everyone with a smile and no matter what was asked of him, he was always willing to cheerfully take on the task. We will really miss his bright spirit and warm sense of humor.

After the farewell party, I left for a retreat up on Mount Petit Jean with a group of professional women. The purpose of the group is to encourage and nurture women leaders. It was a lovely drive and a great day for it. We had dinner that evening at the lodge at the Rockefeller Center. During dinner I asked for some cracked pepper for my salad, and after a while a man came out with something that definitely wasn’t pepper in his hand. He looked around the table and asked if anyone had requested some crepe paper. Of course, we all got a good chuckle out of that.

While both the location and setting were beautiful, I would have to say to my foodies out there that the food was not as memorable. Some of the women ordered appetizers to share and they were fried green beans, chips and salsa and guacamole, and some crab cakes that were quite frankly a little on the bready side. The menu was kind of eclectic and limited. There was shrimp teriyaki for example, two types of steak, a pasta dish, and a trout dish. I had a steak which is something I usually don’t do. The starch offerings were pretty limited. I could either have french fries or roasted little new potatoes, which I thought was unusual because baked potatoes are usually served with steak. Anyway, having said all that, the camaraderie was great. It was good to see all the ladies again. Afterwards we went to one of the larger cottages where we had dessert which was a Boston crème pie. I got to know some of the women I’d never met before, and caught up with old acquaintances before calling it an early evening.

Happy Spring!

I was met with a wonderful surprise when I arrived at the law school for another busy day. I received a beautiful bouquet of miniature roses in bright spring colors from my friend, Stacie Walters. A very warm thanks to you Stacie both for your friendship and for the beautiful flowers, Stacie.

Now I need to digress a little bit because a couple of you who follow the blog actually noticed that while I mention Pilates every Monday, I haven’t mentioned Curves in a while. And yes, it is true, I fell off the “Fabulous at 50” bandwagon, but I went and worked out today. I’m going to rededicate myself to Curves because it’s very important—not just for the exercise, but also as a stress reliever. Thanks for reminding me and for commenting about it. You’ve guilted me back into getting back on the “Fabulous at 50” path!

It’s a little ironic for me to mention getting back on the “Fabulous at 50” horse, and then going to Momma Dean’s with Susan Schell, our director of Career Services, right afterwards. I had to take her—she’d never been there before! I knew better, but it seemed like a good thing to do at the time. She had the fried pork chops with mashed potatoes and gravy and green beans. I had the ribs with macaroni and cheese and fried okra. So, you know, on one hand I’m going back to working out, on the other . . . . But just think of it this way, a good lunch at Mama Dean’s will just motivate me more! Susan enjoyed the peach cobbler for dessert and I had the banana pudding. And I’m telling you, if you haven’t been to Momma Dean’s, you should go check it out on South College (and no, I’m not getting a commission).

During lunch Susan and I visited about how her time at the law school has been, what kind of resources she thinks would be helpful, and her ideas for going forward with new programming for the Career Services department. It was a good visit. We’ve tried to have this conversation in the law school but we really needed to get out of the building to do it. She has some very good ideas and I think our students can look forward to even better services from her office.

The Law Review banquet was held at Uncle Gaylord’s that evening. Thanks to all of the faculty who attended including Ned Snow, Mary Beth and David Matthews, Dean Beard and Amy Beard, Phil Norvell, Bob Moberly, Don Judges and Chandana Becker, Angie Doss, Tim Tarvin and Dr. Patti Latta, Rhonda Adams, Kent Rubens, and Carl and Bobbi Circo. Also, thanks to Niki Cung and her husband Paul Thompson for attending even though they had to leave early. I know the law review members appreciated them for joining us and showing their support. It was a lovely event. There was a buffet but, since I had already eaten Mama Dean’s, I wasn’t very hungry.

Suzanne Clark did a great job of highlighting the Law Review year. You may not know this, but our Law Review used to be located in what was basically a converted sorority house across the street from the law school. When we moved into the new building we were able to make office space available for the Law Review, which meant moving everything in the middle of the school year. The members of the Law Review are to be commended for the extraordinary effort they expended and Suzanne deserves special recognition for the fabulous job she’s done.

One last, special note for this entry: on Thursday, Teri Stafford (who you’ve also seen mentioned in the blog) (I believe there’s a picture of her) left to go and send off her son, Josh, who has been called up to serve in Iraq. We wish them both safe travels, and Godspeed to Josh.

Wednesday, April 9, our new Chancellor-Elect Dave Gearhart paid a visit to the law school for an informal meeting and tour. He visited with a number of folks in the law school community and got a sense of our new physical facilities, some of the challenges we still have, and my visions for the future. I really appreciate him taking an hour of his day to come to visit. We were delighted to see him, and he was a gracious visitor stopping to meet and visit with everyone who stopped to talk with him.

Lunch that day with Carolyn Allen was a highlight. We went to Taste of Thai and had a pretty good (but not overfilling) lunch. In this job as you can tell from the blog there are many meals, so it’s good once in a while to have a light one. Carolyn and I caught up each other on what’s new. We shared some of the challenges of administration. Our lunches are relaxing – two women supporting each other in their roles. I appreciate you, Carolyn, and I really enjoy our conversations. I’m glad you’re there.

It was a day for deans I guess, because at 2:30 p.m. I went over to visit with Dean Shannon in Vol Walker Hall. For those of you who regularly follow the blog, you know that it’s been my goal to visit each of my fellow deans on campus this semester. I’m doing pretty well. So far I’ve talked with Collis Geren and Greg Weidemann, and Carolyn Allen and I regularly have lunch. I’ve also visited with Dan Worrell, so I’m making my way through the list. I have an appointment to see Ashok Saxena, the Dean of Engineering next week.

But Wednesday was the day to visit with Dean Shannon of the Architecture School. He has a lovely office in an even more spectacular building. If you haven’t been to Vol Walker, the architecture building, you should check it out. I learned a lot about how the architecture program works. For example, many of the studio classes are team taught, not that both teachers teach together, but over the course of the semester each teacher teaches a specific segment of the course. Dean Shannon also spoke about how he misses Professor Emeritus John Watkins who taught a Law and Architecture class. He’s actually been thinking about recruiting John to come back and we hope he will. It would be good to see him on campus again.

We also chatted about the challenges of managing and how upon becoming dean, unless you’ve been an associate dean, you really don’t know all the things you needs to know. For that reason it helps to have close relationships with other deans. I appreciate Dean Shannon for taking time to visit with me, to share his goals for his unit, and to offer his assistance and vice versa. I really have to say that this has been a wonderful undertaking. I can’t help but think that the law school is better off because of the strength of our relationships with other units on campus.

Afterwards, I dashed off to a reception with Sherece West who is the president of the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation. One of our alums, Baxter Sharpe, had previously introduced to me to her via e-mail. It was good to meet Sherece in person. (I have a number of pictures of that event) (P:Law School CommunicationsDean NanceDean Nance photos from TOMPro bono event, reception for Sherece West, and Inn of Court jpgs 2765-91) A number of folks from around campus were able to attend her reception. Sherece was very warm and from her remarks it’s clear she’s a visionary. We are very fortunate to have her as the new President of the Foundation.

The Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation (WRF) provides seed money to support efforts to improve the quality of life for all Arkansans and to promote systemic change. In committing itself to this mission, WRF continues the progressive, cutting-edge, visionary work that Governor Rockefeller undertook in his political life and philanthropy from 1954 until his death in 1973. The Foundation’s three goals — education, economic development and economic, racial and social justice — are highly interdependent. WRF views education, for example, as the fundamental strategy in pursuing not only economic development but also economic, racial, and social justice. None exists in isolation from the others. The Foundation will therefore place a premium on programs, projects and initiatives that serve more than one goal and that employ and/or integrate multiple strategies.

Once the reception wrapped up, I took advantage of the still and quiet of the law school to catch up on e-mails, to draft some correspondence, and to follow up on phone calls. With such a busy schedule, it’s nice to have a quiet moment or two to catch my breath.

A special group convened at the request of Phillip Brick, the incoming president of our Student Bar Association, to look at the issue of inviting a Supreme Court Justice to judge the moot court competition and give a lecture at the law school in the spring of 2009. Professor Mark Killenbeck, Professor Mike Mullane, Jason Boyeskie, outgoing chair of the Board of Advocates, Assistant Dean Rhona Adams and Director of Development Teri Stafford participated in the meeting. The group’s decision was to extend an invitation to Justice Alito, the Circuit Judge for the Eighth Circuit. We are hopeful that he will accept and look forward to hosting him.

Afterwards I had a quick meeting with Monika Szakasits, the interim director of the Law Library. She is doing such a wonderful job. I’m really grateful to her for taking on the role while we searched for a library director. She has really kept things humming along and moving forward. Thanks, Monika.

At noon I attended an Academic Deans Group Luncheon, hosted by Carolyn Allen of the Library. We met upstairs at Hog Haus Brewing Company Restaurant and Bar. It was a strange meeting in the sense that there is a lot of transition among the deans. Greg Weidemann of the College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences will be leaving for a job in Connecticut; Bob Smith will be transitioning out of the Provost position; and Don Bobbitt is leaving for University of Texas, Arlington. Bob McMath, Dean of the Honors College, has been appointed Interim Provost starting July 1 and Suzanne McCray, his associate dean, will be the Interim Dean of the Honors College. In addition to the usual things we meet about, we talked about the changes that were taking place.

That evening was the Inns of Court meeting. The topic was “The Stressful Day: Managing Stress for the Benefit of Your Clients, Your Practice and Your Own Mental and Physical Wellbeing.” Group participants were Niki Cung, Amy Wilbourn, Colin Johnson, Doug Martin, Kaycee Wolf, Kelvin Stroud, Margie Alsbrook, Michael Bond, Richard Hebar, Robert Depper, Robert Frazier, Shyretta McCrackin, Stacy Alexander and Stephanie Harper Easterling. It was a very important program. Those of you who follow the blog know that I’ve been involved with the Arkansas Lawyers Helping Lawyers Committee. It is important to present a program dealing with a serious topic that is the elephant in the room. Thanks very much to Niki Cung for selecting this topic, and to all those in her group who participated.

Part of the presentation was a skit about an attorney having an increasingly hectic and stressful day. Afterwards, students shared cases dealing with this issue in which attorneys have faced serious disciplinary charges based on stress and mental health status. A couple of relevant cases are In re Crossley, 310 Ark. 435, 839 S.W.2d 1 (Ark. 1992) and Neal v. Hollingsworth, 338 Ark. 251, 992 S.W.2d 771. You can also find information about this in resources such as the Arkansas Judges and Lawyers Assistance Program. Niki also shared with the Inn how the Arkansas Judges and Lawyers Assistance Program functions and how to contact Gail Harber, the executive director of AJLAP. The student group members reminded us of the Arkansas Rules of Professional Conduct that are applicable to such a situation. It is an important topic, and the program was well done between the skit and the presentation information and resources. I’m pleased to see that this important message is being taken to heart and shared with groups of lawyers around the state.