Syracuse University College of Law Records
A description of its records at the Syracuse University Archives
Summary |
|
| Creator: | Syracuse University. -- College of Law. |
| Title: | Syracuse University College of Law Records |
| Dates: | 1876-2016 |
| Size: | 55 boxes, 5 loose volumes (48.5 linear feet) |
| Abstract: | The College of Law Records contain materials relating to its faculty, students and administration between 1924 and 2001. |
| Language: | English |
| Repository: |
University Archives, Special Collections Research Center Syracuse University Libraries 222 Waverly Ave., Suite 600 Syracuse, NY 13244-2010 https://library.syracuse.edu/special-collections-research-center/university-archives |
Historical Note
Since its founding in 1870, Syracuse University had always intended to offer law classes, but not until 1895 did the College of Law admit its first students. Chancellor James Roscoe Day, James B. Brooks, Charles W. Andrews, and Edwin and William Nottingham worked hard to see the establishment of the College of Law, which was officially approved as the fourth college of Syracuse University by the Board of Trustees on June 11, 1895. Brooks became the College's first dean. Requirements for entrance included three years of high school, and the first classes were held by local lawyers on the top floor of Bastable Block, which stood on the corner of South Warren and East Genesee Streets. During this time, Syracuse law students used the New York Court of Appeals Library.
By 1898, the College of Law had moved into University Block on East Washington Street. The subsequent year, all graduates passed the New York State Bar, unlike any other college or university class in the state. The College also officially had its own library by then. The College of Law was a charter member of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS). In 1903, Bessie Seeley became the first woman to graduate from the College. The following year, classes moved to Crouse Mansion, which would house law classes until 1926 when they transferred to Hackett Hall (formerly Ely Apartments), 400 Montgomery Street. A few years prior, in 1923, the College was approved by the American Bar Association, Section on Legal Education.
Paul Shipman Andrews became the new dean in 1927, replacing Frank R. Walker and implementing a change of direction for the College of Law. Prior to Andrews, the College's faculty consisted of mostly part-time local practicing lawyers. Among the improvements the new dean made were the use of the casebook method, stricter admission (including three years of liberal arts and examination standards) as well as the addition of a moot court system. The faculty were replaced with qualified professors with experience in legal education.
By 1949, the first issue of Syracuse Law Review was published, containing a large portion of student work. Ralph E. Kharas replaced Andrews as dean in 1952 and the College broke ground on White Hall, finally on the main campus, the succeeding year. White Hall and its additions, Grant Auditorium in 1966, Barclay Law Library in 1985, and the MacNaughton Hall expansion in 1997, served as the longest-running home to the College of Law. In 1961, the International Legal Studies program began and later started publishing the Syracuse Journal of International Law and Commerce. After Kharas died in 1966, Robert W. Miller took his place until 1971. Although Judith Younger was the College's first female dean, she only served for a year. It wouldn’t be until 1975 with the arrival of Craig W. Christensen that the College of Law would have a longer-serving dean.
1968 marked the first year that Syracuse University's College of Law graduated its first Juris Doctor students. The first full-scale clinical legal education program was initiated in 1971, giving students the opportunity to learn outside the classroom. Six years later, the Law in London program began. Michael H. Hoeflich replaced Christensen as dean in 1988 and initiated the Law, Technology, and Management program in 1990. He served the College of Law until 1994 when Daan Braveman replaced him. In 2002, the College welcomed its second female dean, Hannah R. Arterian, who remained until 2015. By the fall of 2014, the College of Law had moved into a new building, Dineen Hall.
Scope and Content Note
The Syracuse University College of Law Records contain faculty minutes, publications such as the Syracuse Law Review and Syracuse Journal of International Law and Commerce, case reports from the Office of Clinical Legal Education as well as other materials relating to the College of Law and its students.
Restrictions
Access Restrictions
Please note that the collection is housed off-site, and advance notice is required to allow time to have the materials brought to the Reading Room on campus.
The collection is currently unprocessed and not available for research. Please contact the repository listed above for more information.
School, college and department records are restricted to the office of origin for 30 years. Requests to use restricted records must be obtained in writing from the office of origin.
The College of Law Archives also holds material related to the College of Law. Some of their photographs are located on the New York Heritage site.
Use Restrictions
Written permission must be obtained from the Syracuse University Archives and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.
Related Material
Related to the College of Law Records are the College of Law Office of the Dean Records and faculty papers that are within Archives.
The Archives also holds clippings files on the College of Law as well as photographs located in the Photograph Collection.
Selected Search Terms
Names
Subjects
Types of material
Administrative Information
Preferred Citation
Preferred citation for this material is as follows:
Syracuse University College of Law Records,
University Archives,
Special Collections Research Center
Syracuse University Libraries
Acquisition Information
The College of Laws Records were transferred to the Archives by the College of Law between 1971 and 2009.
Processing Information
This collection remains unprocessed.
Finding Aid Information
Created by: Anna Smallwood
Date: 2016
Revision history: 2016 - Reference materials added to collection and finding aid updated
(AES)