March 5, 2002
Law School to Celebrate
Cornerstones and Milestones
Dedication Set for Friday with Justice Scalia, Sen.
Reid
By Greg
Licamele
It’s location, location, location.
The old axiom holds true for
the Law School as it celebrates its new corner townhouse building with
ceremonies dotted with dignitaries and symbolism. Among those attending
Friday’s events will be Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and
Law School alumnus Sen. Harry Reid (D–NV).
The facility, located on the
corner of 20th and G streets, has been nothing short of an amazing architectural
achievement, turning an 1800s townhouse into a five-level, 28,000-square
foot addition, while maintaining its historic facade. Tom Morrison,
associate dean for administrative affairs, says that accomplishment,
combined with connecting the Burns Law Library with Stuart and Lisner
halls, provides a stable cornerstone for the next 100 years of the Law
School.
“A theme for this building
since the day we started working on it, which was five years ago, has
always been a cornerstone,” Morrison says. “This is a corner
building. Since the University made the decision to allow us to have
Stuart and Lisner halls when the Elliott School (of International Affairs)
moves out, you can see where it becomes a cornerstone of the Law School.
It’s a transit point and a center hub.”
When the Elliott School moves
to E Street later this summer, the Law School complex will consist of
Lerner, Stockton, Stuart, and Lisner halls, as well as the Burns Law
Library and the corner townhouse, for a total of 283,910 square feet,
Morrison says.
“It’s the fulfillment
of the vision Dean (Michael) Young has for this Law School,” Morrison
says, “to be able to continue the process of locating our faculty,
students, and classrooms all in a relatively small area, yet, still
have the elbow room for the studying to go on. The study of law is a
collaborative process. It’s a thinking, talking, living process.”
Although the school will have
an additional 76,000 square feet, Morrison says enrollment will not
increase beyond 1,700 students.
Students, faculty, staff, alumni,
and supporters will gather Friday to
celebrate this milestone with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Scalia then
will address the Law School community at the Media and Public Affairs
Building. A black-tie dinner at the US Senate Caucus Room brings the
celebrations to a close. At that dinner, Reid, who graduated from the
Law School in 1964, will receive the J. William Fulbright Public Service
Award. John Jenkins, a 1961 law graduate and senior associate dean emeritus,
will be honored with the Jacob Burns Award for Extraordinary Service
to the Law School.
“We’re honored to
have Justice Scalia,” Morrison says. “Any law school is always
proud to show off its facilities to a Supreme Court justice.”
Scalia’s remarks will
forever become part of the Law School legacy, as a copy of his speech
will be placed in a time capsule, along with other symbolic tokens of
the school’s life, including photos, a scroll of donors, and items
from faculty, staff, and students.
“We want to have that
moment in time frozen for a moment or two so we can pass on what we
were thinking,” Morrison says. “We are constructing this building
for the Law School of the next 100 years.”
Morrison credits the work of
HITT Contracting and Cox, Graae, and Spack Architects with preserving
the exterior of the townhouse, gutting its inside, and then building
essentially another structure around the townhouses to connect Stuart
Hall with the Burns Library, providing a level path to walk through
from floor to floor.
The ground floor of the cornerstone
building houses admissions and financial aid, while the first floor
provides student services. A suite of dean’s offices can be found
on the second floor, with faculty offices on the third and fourth floors.
Morrison says the faculty offices are purposefully not sorted by discipline.
“We think it helps ourselves
to have multiple disciplines working together, each bringing their own
expertise,” Morrison says. “The law today is not a single
discipline. Environmental law is not in a vacuum; if you don’t
understand government contracting or international law or economics,
you’re not a very good environmental lawyer.”
Some faculty members and staff
remain in the Old Main Building at 1922 F St., but they will move to
the complex after the Elliott School vacates Stuart and Lisner halls.
With neighbors stopping on
the street and praising the new building, Morrison says he is not concerned
about a prominent neighbor across the street — The World Bank.
Despite headline-grabbing protests of the organization every other year,
Morrison feels the Law School complex stands on safe ground.
“They (World Bank) are
constant vigilants on their property, which tends to flow over to benefit
us,” Morrison says. “Certainly, when The World Bank protests
happen, we’re disrupted, but they are disrupted at Marvin Center
and Thurston Hall. Because police expand the perimeter, we fall in the
perimeter and that makes it safer.”
After years of work on this
project, Morrison says the location of the townhouse truly marks this
as a significant development in the Law School’s life.
“The square feet that
this building complex we are dedicating brings to the Law School is
great, but it is small in comparison to a much greater picture of uniting
and bringing together the Law School and giving us a lot more flexibility
and cohesiveness.”
Send feedback to: bygeorge@gwu.edu
