FEATURES consultants, elected officials— they all want to see these graduates succeed. They want to help at the college itself, they want to be involved. There’ s been a tremendous outpouring of support.”
The community partnership goes both ways. In September, the school was recognized for its strong service culture-another of the seven priorities-when it received the Kathy Para Outstanding Pro Bono Service Award from Jacksonville Area Legal Aid. The award, typically given to an individual or organization for a single case or project, was instead presented to the College in recognition of the hundreds of pro bono hours volunteered by students.“ I was very proud;’ said Dean Allard.“ It’ s gratifying and reminds students why they’ re doing all this stuff, why they’ re breaking their backs studying to be lawyers.
Last fall, the school welcomed its largest incoming class yet-70 students-more than doubling the student body to 135. While enrollment is growing, there are no plans to lose the intimacy and personalized approach that are hallmarks of the Jacksonville experience. That personal touch extends all the way to the top: over the summer, Dean Allard personally called each new student to congratulate them on their admission.
Among them was first-year student Brandon Fason, who said the accessibility of faculty and staff has been what impresses him most.“ It’ s not really positions at JU, it’ s people. We know the people because they walk the halls with us. They say,‘ hi: They call us by name. Dean Allard has his door open pretty much any day, any time that he’ s there. I don’ t think I’ ve ever walked by his office and not seen him with his door open and given him a wave, said‘ hi’.’’
Dean Allard has said time and again that there is no tool in the world as powerful as a legally trained mind. While he, staff and the faculty work to equip the next generation of lawyers with that tool, they’ re doing so with what he calls“ Jackson-ville Pollock creativity;’ embracing innovation every step of the way.
Put all of these elements together, and you have a recipe for success. And the proof, as they say, is in the pudding.“ You don’ t have to leave Jacksonville to get an outstanding, top-line, secondto-none education;’ says Dean Allard.“ If you want a great law school education, come to JU. You’ ll get it here.”
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