Dean's Welcome

I'm Cyndi Nance, the new Dean of the University of Arkansas School of Law. I want to welcome you to our website and invite you to explore it and to contact us directly if we can be of assistance.

This is a really exciting time for the School of Law and for the University of Arkansas. Our flagship Fayetteville campus recently concluded its capital campaign by garnering in excess of $1 billion in pledges, one of the most remarkable efforts for any public university, ever. The School of Law was a part of that effort and is sharing in the benefits of that success. Our new addition to the Leflar Law Center was opened in August 2006. Construction of over 14,000 square feet more will be completed in August 2007. These projects give the School of Law a state-of-the-art facility that will have a tremendous impact on our academic programs.

Achieving a diverse faculty and student body are top priorities of both the University of Arkansas and the School of Law. I am obviously a part of that as the first woman and first African American dean in the School of Law's history. Moreover, our student body has become one of the most diverse of any law school in the country while the academic profiles of our entering classes have shown significant improvement over the past several years. We are attracting better students and providing them, we believe, with more opportunities for a complete and well-rounded legal education than ever before.

Our curriculum includes a number of practical "skills" courses in addition to the more traditional law school courses. Our students participate in a number of local, regional and national trial and skills competitions with a great deal of success. Students with an interest in travel can participate in our summer programs at Cambridge and St. Petersburg.

A number of our students each year are involved in the publication of the Arkansas Law Review. Others are leading a pioneering effort in the emerging area of food law with the successful launch last year of our new law student edited journal, the Journal of Food Law and Policy. Our Graduate Agricultural Law Program continues to be the only graduate law program in the United States that offers an LL.M. degree in Agricultural Law.

Our faculty continues a long tradition of excellence. We have a rich history of outstanding teachers and scholars, and I am proud to have been a part of this faculty for the past 12 years. We also include in our past ranks a number of faculty who have gone on to political prominence, including former President Bill Clinton and U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.

The above is no more than a snapshot. If you are thinking of attending law school, I invite you to learn more about us firsthand. Tour our beautiful campus. Meet our current students and attend a law class. Discover the beauty and diversity of the city of Fayetteville, which combines the intimacy of a small college town with the excitement and attractions of a much larger city. Our Admissions Office will be happy to assist you in scheduling a visit. I look forward to seeing you in Fayetteville.