The Rambler (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 94, No. 7, Ed. 1 Wednesday, October 19, 2005 Page: 2 of 8
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2 October 19, 2005
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A/iew renovations transform law school
B.J. Bellard
staff writer'
J The Texas Wesleyan University School of
"Lm recently completed renovations to the
nine of $6.5 million to its downtown Fort
Worth facility. The renovation includes a
redesign of the third floor that provides
40,000 square feet of extensive classroom and
student space for the law school, and an
-expansion of the library that encompasses the
entire lower level.
A dedication ceremony will take place
Oct. 20 that includes U.S. Supreme Court
; Justice Anthony Kennedy as speaker. The
_school will also host a ribbon cutting and
[3?pen house.
;' "The renovation of our Law School signi-
!*fies the continuation of an upward cycle,"
•Said Frederick Slabach, dean of the law
•
''•school. "It is going to enhance the reputation
of the law school and raise our profile. More
- firms will want to hire our law students and
recognize what accomplished professionals
they are. This is a very important event in the
"life of Texas Wesleyan University School of
Law."
Improvements were completed as a result
of Imagine: The Law School Campaign,
which raised $3.6 million in support for the
expansion. The campaign was made possible
through the generosity of Mr. and Mrs. Dee J.
Kelly, who contributed $1 million; the
Burnett and Sid W. Richardson foundations,
which donated $250,000 each; and the Amon
G. Carter Foundation, which committed
$500,000.
The new Dee J. Kelly Law Library lies at
the heaic of the expansion. The library's
shelving capacity has increased dramatically,
bringing it to more than 42,000 linear feet.
The books are housed on electronically oper-
ated shelves, which makes maneuvering but
the touch of a button.
"We're very proud of our library, and
we've been expanding the collection dramati-
cally over the last few years," said Slabach.
"We wanted the space to handle it, and, aes-
thetically, we wanted the space to be as good
as the collection. I think we've accomplished
that. The reading room in the library is a
showpiece. It's very beautiful. We're all
proud. Far more students use the library now
than they did before, and it's not just because
it's a new place. I think it's because it's a nicer
place."
The library now boasts a seating capacity
of 68 percent of the school's full-time student
population. There is wireless Internet connec-
tion throughout in addition to electrical out-
lets at every table and desk for computer link-
age.
The newly renovated third floor houses
offices for the Law Review, Moot Court,
Student Bar Association and other student
groups and also has as a computer lab. The
Law Clinic, a body that represents indigent
clients in obtaining Social Security and dis-
ability benefits and in family law/domestic
violence cases, has expanded its offices to
Honors, from page 1
of an honors program. As
well, it helps students when
they apply to graduate pro-
grams for advanced studies,"
said Dr. Allen Henderson,
provost. "Moreover, an hon-
ors program should help us
recruit and retain more out-
standing students as part of
the student body." ' : 1 '
The Honors Council,
appointed to develop the pro-
gram, first met in May.
"Our plan is to complete
the plans for the entire pro-
gram, including projecting a
budget to the provost's office
by the end of this semester so
that the Honors Program can
begin in fall 2006," Battles
said.
According to Henderson,
the university currently has
an upper level program in
place in which departments
can choose to participate but
do not have a-freshman/soph-
otriote level program.
"The facility and I
believe we should have an
honors program for all stu-
dents," he said.
Henderson said that an
honors program is both a
challenging and rewarding
educational experience and
also helpful in obtaining
admission into graduate pro-
grams.
"We hope that the
Wesleyan Scholars Program
will enrich the intellectual
experience of all participating
students," Battles said. "The
idea of knowledge for knowl-
edge's sake is at the core of
this honors program. We hope
this program will be a dynam-
ic learning experience for stu-
dents and faculty alike."
Dedication, from page 1
ciously agreed to speak at the Wesleyan cere-
mony.
Along with his years of experience as a
litigation and transaction lawyer, Kennedy
has lectured in law schools and universities
throughout the United States and visited and
lectured at about 125 universities. He has also
devised a three-day program for judicial edu-
cation for the senior judges of Iraq and has
conducted seminars in writing and judicial
methods with judges and courts in various
European counties.
His recent contribution to legal education
is the ABA program called Dialogue on
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The Rambler
Courtesy of Dee J. Kelly Law Library
The final stage of the law school renovation was the completion of the Dee J. Kelly Law Library.
The reading room is the cornerstone of the library.
now include six spaces. Career Services also
has additional space, with three private inter-
view rooms available to those conducting
interviews on campus.
In addition, the law school bookstore
relocated from the Tarrant County Bar build-
ing to the third floor of the law building,
which provides easier access and convenience
for students, faculty and staff.
Faculty members now have access to four
large classrooms with approximately 100
seats each, as well as seminar rooms, confer-
ence rooms and small and medium class-
rooms. The third floor also holds the Amon
G. Carter Auditorium with capacity for 248
seats. These rooms are available to profes-
sional groups, such as the Tarrant County Bar
Association, as well.
The renovations also provide enough
space to add a number of small group study
rooms, a computer classroom and a quiet
reading room.
Upgrades were also made to the techno-
logical infrastructure of the building. Through
a combination of wired and wireless connec-
tivity, the law school provides vital access to
the latest in legal research, court documents
and other important information.
School of Education adds new principal
program for aspiring administrators
Freedom. His program is used by some
school districts in the United States, and more
than one million students have participated in
this high school civics exercise.
The $6.5 million renovations were com-
pleted as a result of the successful Imagine
Campaign, which raised $3.6 million in sup-
port of the expansion project. The renovation
includes a redesign of the third floor that pro-
vides 40,000 square feet of extensive class-
room and student space for the law school
and an expansion of the library that encom-
passes the entire lower level.
Whitney Fowler
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
The school of education
now offers aspiring school
administrators principal certi-
fication courses through an
intensive six-week leadership
institute available during the
fall, spring and summer. The
specialized instruction pro-
vides students who already
have master's degrees the
necessary courses for princi-
pal certification. For those
without a master's, the leader-
ship institute courses are part
of the degree plan for a mas-
ter's in education with princi-
pal certification.
"Our mission is to pro-
vide principal formation - not
training - which is at the heart
of our leadership institutes,"
said Twyla Miranda, director
of the Graduate Studies in
Education. "We want new
principals to have a thorough
understanding of theory, best
practice and also to grow in
wisdom, courage and confi-
dence as they become leaders
of schools."
This summer the program
offered its first 12 hours of
coursework called the
Summer Institute of School
Leadership to a group of 16
students, and will offer the
same coursework on the
weekends this fall and spring
semesters called Wesleyan
Weekend Institute of School
Leadership.
"After six weeks of
intense instruction in school
law, curriculum, instructional
leadership and supervision
and faculty development, all
of the 16 aspiring principals
were exhausted and exhilarat-
ed with the amount of work
they put into the courses and
the knowledge they now
have," Miranda said.
The Weekend Institute of
School Leadership is under-
way with 17 participants.
Deborah Ferril, a current
third grade teacher at Lone
Star Elementary in Keller,
attended the summer session.
"One of the most benefi-
cial aspccts of the program
was having current adminis-
trators as our instructors," she
said. "Their lessons were
interlaced with their own
experiences - be them good
or bad. They opened a world
that most of us had never seen
before as teachers."
Ferril said that one aspect
of the program she found sur-
prising was the friendships
made in the classrooms.
"We now have a vast sup-
port system that spans many
different districts and experi-
ence levels that we can call
upon at any time. For me, that
was the best part of the pro-
gram," she said. "There were
many different things that I
could have done over the
summer, but none of them
would have been as educa-
tional, fulfilling, or enjoyable
as taking those four classes
and creating those new
bonds."
According to Miranda,
the school of education has
not offered principal certifica-
tion before this year.
"Many of our alumni had
asked us repeatedly about
offering this master's, and
after two years of planning,
we had our proposal ready,"
she said.
In order to offer the pro-
gram, the school of education
had to obtain approval from
the State Board for Educator
Certification.
"Since we have an out-
standing record in our other
master's degree programs
(reading, bilingual, ESL,
reading specialist, science
education), they accepted our
proposal artd fully support
what w§ are doing with prin-
cipal education," Miranda
said.
The program puts stu-
dents on a faster track to
become principals or school
leaders due to the compres-
sion of the courses.
"We also find that work-
ing together as a cohort in the
coursework means that those
folks will be a support group
for each other once they are
hired as assistant principals or
school leaders," she said.
"Some candidates do not have
the goal of becoming a princi-
pal. but a curriculum coordi-
nator or supervisor."
The institutes include
instruction on leadership
skills, school law, instruction-
al coaching, teacher supervi-
sion and program evaluations.
Students complete 18 hours
of coursework, six of which is
the principal internship,
where each student practices
being a leader in his/her
school under the tutelage of a
mentor principal. After finish-
ing the coursework, students
must pass the state exam for
principal certification.
To enroll in the Weekend
or Summer Institute of School
Leadership, students must
have three years of teaching
experience, evidence of out-
standing teaching, 3.0 GPA
and references attesting to
leadership. For more informa-
tion, contact Dr. Twyla
Miranda at (817) 531-4947 or
tmiranda@txwes. edu.
rncc
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Fowler, Whitney. The Rambler (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 94, No. 7, Ed. 1 Wednesday, October 19, 2005, newspaper, October 19, 2005; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth253353/m1/2/?q=%22%22~1: accessed July 15, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Texas Wesleyan University.