Strategic Plan

STRATEGIC PLAN

2011-2015

Founded in 1915, The University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law is by far the oldest law school in the state of Arizona and one of the premier public law schools in the United States. We have undertaken this strategic planning process with a view toward:

• Maintaining our tradition of providing students with an exceptional legal education, emphasizing strong critical thinking and analytical reasoning skills.

• Expanding our students’ capabilities and prospects for career success through a more integrative, relevant, and personalized educational experience than ever before.

• Providing an environment that encourages and rewards the transformative research and service of our faculty and students.

• Increasing the impact of our scholarship and public service by leveraging our place within a world class research university to create and disseminate new knowledge.

• Engaging and providing greater service to our alumni and non-alumni supporters across the country and to the profession as a whole.

The intellectual excitement and the personal warmth that characterize Arizona Law make it a destination for prospective students and faculty, and a place that its alumni can always call home.

Lawrence Ponoroff, Dean

DEAN’S LETTER

At Arizona Law, we are committed to:

• An inspiring and engaging intellectual community that promotes knowledge, scholarship, and lifelong learning.

• Rigorous standards of excellence in education, research, and inquiry.

• Inclusion across disciplines and communities.

• Collegiality, civility, and professional integrity.

• Continuous improvement as individuals, as an institution, and as a community.

• Professional and public service, respect for the rule of law, and access to justice for all.

CoRE VALuES

ViSioN

Our vision is to be nationally preeminent in fostering an intimate and supportive environment for learning and scholarship, where leaders in their field help students develop the knowledge, skills, and ethical foundation necessary to succeed and to lead in the legal profession and beyond.

miSSioN

Our mission is to:

• Put students at the center by providing an intensive, individualized learning experience that trains ethical and effective lawyers and leaders.

• Advance knowledge through the creation and dissemination of scholarship that makes important contributions to intellectual discourse and law reform, and that is recognized for excellence, theoretical creativity, pluralism, and practical significance.

• Provide service and leadership on important matters of law, law reform, public policy, and justice, particularly in those fields in which we possess special expertise.

In fulfilling our mission, we will engage the imagination, participation, and support of our alumni, friends, and the broader university community.

STRATEgiES foR AChiEViNg ThE ViSioN

Strategies for Achieving the Vision: TheStudentExperience

To provide our students with a unique, personalized learning experience that enables students to meet the demands of a changing profession and to succeed anywhere.

Strategies for Achieving the Vision: AdvancingKnowledge

Enhance our intellectually stimulating community of acclaimed scholars, provide sufficient time and resources for productive and creative scholarship, and ensure that our ideas are widely disseminated to other scholars, the legal community, public policymakers, and the world at large.

Strategies for Achieving the Vision: Outreach&Advancement

To engage, serve, and draw strength from our distinguished alumni and friends, and to provide meaningful service to the profession, to our local and national alumni, and to the broader community

To provide our students with a unique, personalized learning experience that enables students to meet the demands of a changing profession and to succeed anywhere.

Strategies for Achieving the Vision:

ThESTudEnTExpEriEncE


ThESTudEnTExpEriEncEADMISSIONS

goAL We will attract a diverse and intellectually engaged students who have the potential to succeed in the law school environment and beyond.

objECTiVES

mEASuRES of PRogRESS

a. Increased undergraduate median grade point averages, LSAT scores, and other relevant credentials.

b. Improved success in competing with peer institutions for highly qualified applicants.

c. Success in attracting a diverse body of applicants and entering students.

d. Increased student financial aid expenditures.

1. Develop and implement a student recruitment strategy that effectively communicates the distinctive advantages of enrolling as a student at Arizona Law.

2. Engage the participation of our students, student organizations, faculty, staff, alumni, persons at undergraduate colleges, and other networking resources.

3. Continue our individualized approach to admission, which values diversity in its broadest sense to enrich and inform the student experience at Arizona Law.

4. Continue to draw upon the global community to attract talented students with a rich variety of backgrounds and experiences to our JD, LLM and SJD programs.


ThESTudEnTExpEriEncECURRICULUM, TEACHING, &

LEARNING EXPERIENCE

goAL We will provide our students with a rigorous, engaging, and innovative learning environment that incorporates varied approaches to learning.

objECTiVES1. Implement systematic planning to ensure that our curriculum

addresses the changing needs of our students and those served by the legal profession, particularly in the areas of legal analysis, research and writing, listening and oral communications, problem-solving, and other skills.

2. Mentor our students so that they can both appreciate and maximize the benefit of the educational opportunities available to them, emphasizing the importance of lifelong learning.

3. Continue to make available experiential learning and clinical opportunities for all students who seek that experience, to enhance professional skills and ethical decision making, to contextualize substantive legal knowledge, and to encourage a career-long commitment to public service and pro bono representation.

4. Explore expansion of our simulation and professional skills course offerings to complement our already strong trial practice program.

5. Encourage teaching collaborations among faculty members (at the Law College and across the University), and collaborations between faculty members and practitioners to provide students with an in-depth understanding of the relationship between legal theory and practice.

6. Continue to offer our students a unique and meaningful classroom learning experience, including employing state-of-the-art technology and providing significant opportunities for feedback.

7. Continue to promote and encourage out-of-class, informal student-professor and student-student interaction and research

collaboration both at the Law College and in other appropriate settings.

8. Provide opportunities for the LLM and SJD students to interact in meaningful ways with the JD student body and to participate fully in the intellectual life of the College.

9. Systematically gather feedback from students on their Arizona Law experience in order to better understand our students’ needs and aspirations.

10. Explore opportunities to improve the student-faculty ratio both through the optimal deployment of full-time faculty resources, and by exploring opportunities to increase teaching resources through professors of the practice or a visiting assistant professor (VAP) program.

11. Facilitate and encourage enrollment in joint degree programs; encourage where appropriate, enrollment in courses offered in other University departments and colleges; and welcome students in other University graduate programs to cross-enroll in appropriate courses at Arizona Law.

12. Strategically deploy adjunct professors to draw upon the skills of the local legal community and alumni to provide a varied and deep curriculum that responds to student needs.

13. Develop new resources, both hard-copy and electronic, to guide and better advise students in maximizing their individual educational experience based on their particular interests, strengths, and professional aspirations.

14. Examine our existing performance evaluation, reward, and recognition mechanisms to ensure that our education and student-experience goals are being met.

mEASuRES of PRogRESS a. Improved selection and frequency of course offerings in relation to student needs, student demand, and professional activities after graduation.

b. Increased student satisfaction with instruction, programs, services, and their overall experience at Arizona Law.

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WeLaunchLivesin theLaw


ThESTudEnTExpEriEncE CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

goAL We will provide our students and graduates with a level of support in securing career opportunities that gives them a competitive advantage in a challenging and dynamic employment market.

objECTiVES


a. Maintaining summer employment rates of 1L and 2L students at a level at least equal to that of peer law schools.

b. Maintaining employment rates at graduation and nine months following graduation at a level at least equal to that of peer law schools.

c. Expansion of the geographic range and types of positions secured by our recent graduates.

d. Expansion of student and alumni career services advisory councils.

1. Continue to work toward providing all 1L students with the opportunity to have a meaningful law-related summer employment or extern/intern experience.

2. Facilitate the development by students of a portfolio showcasing their achievements, skills, experiences, and training, and through this process, assist each student in identifying and strengthening his or her unique skills and aspirations.

3. Increase student awareness of employment opportunities and strategies early in their legal education in order to better prepare them for success in interviewing and in securing jobs.

4. Make our Career Office more accessible to alumni generally and recent graduates in particular.

5. Continue to develop and expand student employment opportunities through additional off-campus interview programs, alumni networking, and more personalized career counseling and advising – employing faculty as well as Career Office professionals in this endeavor.

6. Improve our ability to collect data about student and alumni placement and placement preferences, including information regarding job type and geographic location.

7. Obtain systematic feedback from students and employers regarding the career planning resources provided by Arizona Law.

8. Reach out to new prospective employers and be responsive to their needs and requirements.

Enhance our intellectually stimulating community of acclaimed scholars, provide sufficient time and resources for productive and creative scholarship, and ensure that our ideas are widely disseminated to other scholars, the legal community, public policymakers, and the world at large.

Strategies for Achieving the Vision: AdVAncinGKnOWLEdGE


AdVAncinGKnOWLEdGESCHOLARSHIP

goAL Our faculty will regularly publish original, innovative, and important scholarship in prominent scholarly journals, publications of leading presses, and other influential venues.

objECTiVES


a. Increased publication in prominent scholarly journals, with leading book publishers, and in other influential venues.

b. Increased number of citations to faculty work, adoptions of case books and other teaching materials authored by Arizona Law faculty.

c. Increased success in hiring and retention of faculty members who are or will be leading scholars in their fields.

d. Increased extramural funding.

e. Increased visits by our faculty to other academic and professional venues to present their work.

f. Increased participation in influential scholarly and professional organizations.

g. Increased national and international recognition of the work of our faculty, including in widely followed rankings of laws.

1. Recruit, develop, and retain productive teacher-scholars who will have a significant impact on their fields of expertise.

2. Provide sufficient time and resources so that faculty can contribute to local, state, national, and international dialogues in their fields.

3. Encourage and facilitate the generation of outside research grant support.

4. Examine peer review, performance evaluation, and reward and recognition mechanisms to ensure that faculty

effectively contribute to the mission of the Law College.

5. Respect and support broad diversity in scholarship and the diverse ways in which members of our community contribute to the intellectual life of the College.

6. Support and encourage active participation by faculty members at conferences and symposia, and in influential scholarly and professional organizations.

7. Develop and implement a plan to increase outside awareness of faculty scholarship.


AdVAncinGKnOWLEdGEINTELLECTUAL COMMUNITY

goAL We will build and maintain an intellectual community that supports innovative and important scholarship, teaching, mentoring and learning.

objECTiVES


a. Improvement in faculty satisfaction with and participation in the intellectual climate at Arizona Law.

b. Increased success in faculty hiring and retention.

c. Improvement in the quantity and quality of enrichment activities and similar opportunities for intellectual interaction and engagement.

d. Increased number of visitors to the Law College to participate in scholarly programs.

1. Develop opportunities for intensive intellectual exchange among our faculty, with special attention to the needs of junior faculty.

2. Maintain a vibrant enrichment program and better coordinate talks and presentations sponsored by Law College organizations, programs, centers, and faculty.

3. Pursue opportunities to host conferences, colloquia, and symposia on cutting-edge legal and policy topics to foster an exciting intellectual environment.

4. Publicize and celebrate the achievements of our community.

5. Foster both student participation in scholarly activities and also a sense of pride among students and alumni in the scholarly commitment and achievements of the Law College.

6. Encourage the integration of our centers of excellence and our diverse interests with the broader scholarly activities of the College.

7. Use the Arizona Law website, newsletters, and other media to inform the public and the alumni on the ongoing scholarly projects and achievements at the Law College.


AdVAncinGKnOWLEdGE

INTERDISCIPLINARY & COLLABORATIVE SCHOLARSHIP & TEACHING:

PROGRAMS & CENTERS

goAL We will encourage and support centers and programs that strengthen and further the mission of Arizona Law.

objECTiVES


1. Build on the existing strengths of the Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy Program, the International Trade and Business Law Program, and the National Law Center to capitalize on their national prominence and the quality of their programs.

2. More effectively promote the achievements of our programs and centers of excellence as they may exist from time to time both internally and to the wider world.

3. Seek and secure external funding for research, programs, and centers, and evaluate the continuing viability of centers and programs by their ability to attract external support or otherwise to serve an important institutional interest.

4. Evaluate new programs based on their compatibility with our mission and the ability to generate new revenue streams.

5. Examine the offering of certificates within the context of student needs, faculty availability, and resources.

a. Greater recognition of Law College programs in relevant national rankings and surveys.

b. Increased external funding for programs and research.


AdVAncinGKnOWLEdGE

goAL We will draw strength from affiliation with a great research institution and support it in realizing its broader strategic goals, particularly where the law intersects with the areas of interdisciplinary emphases identified in the University’s Five-Year Strategic Plan, 2011-15.

objECTiVES


a. Greater quantity of interdisciplinary scholarship published in prominent scholarly journals, by leading presses, and in other highly influential venues.

b. Expanded student participation in joint degree and other interdisciplinary programs.

c. Increased visibility and support within the greater University of Arizona community.

1. Promote and strengthen our joint degree programs, supplementing them with additional interdisciplinary programs as we develop appropriate opportunities.

2. Continue to reach out to the University of Arizona community to bring the perspectives of other disciplines to our work, to engage other units in our work, and to create interdisciplinary ties, with an emphasis upon those areas of interdisciplinary collaboration identified as core in the University’s Five-Year Strategic Plan, 2011-15.

INTERDISCIPLINARY & COLLABORATIVE SCHOLARSHIP & TEACHING: THE

UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA COMMUNITY

To engage, serve, and draw strength from our distinguished alumni and friends, and to provide meaningful service to the profession, to our local and national alumni, and to the broader community

Strategies for Achieving the Vision: OuTrEAch&AdVAncEmEnT


OuTrEAch&AdVAncEmEnTALUMNI RELATIONS

goAL We will engage and serve our alumni constituencies across the country, with the aim of making them strong and active supporters of Arizona Law.

objECTiVES


a. Increased number of alumni involved in activities supporting law students and the College of Law.

b. Increased number of, and participation in, alumni events.

c. Increase in alumni participation rate in Arizona Law Fund and other giving programs.

1. Increase opportunities for alumni to participate actively in programs that recruit, educate, counsel, and place students.

2. Engage and serve alumni by sponsoring social gatherings, CLE and other enrichment programs, and Arizona Law days in various cities.

3. Provide more frequent and direct communication with and among our alumni to increase their awareness of the activities, successes, and needs of the Law College.

4. Form alumni networks in all areas where we have a significant alumni presence, to help them see and appreciate the relevance of the Law College to their professional lives.

5. Develop alumni databases that are accessible by various constituencies including faculty, staff, Arizona Law and University of Arizona alumni, and prospective clients of our alumni.


OuTrEAch&AdVAncEmEnTSERVICE & OUTREACH

goAL We will provide meaningful service to the profession and to the local, state, national, and international communities.

objECTiVES


a. Increased number or volume of classes, lectures, online content offered to the bar, the judiciary, policymakers, and the public at large.

b. Increased breadth and diversity of persons and groups availing themselves of Arizona Law outreach services.

c. Increased Arizona Law visibility in law reform and public policymaking.

1. Examine the possibility of offering courses, lectures, and online content through distance learning, the Arizona Law website, and onsite classes, to various constituencies, such as judges, members of the bar, and the state and local community.

2. Endeavor to provide lectures, outreach, and continuing education, as appropriate, to the University, the local community, and the citizens of Arizona to promote the mission of the College of Law and further the rule of law.

3. Working with the National Law Center, explore opportunities to provide educational programs to judges, lawyers, and businesspeople from Latin America and elsewhere around the world.

4. Consistent with our primary obligation to our students, support our faculty when presented with opportunities for leadership roles in state and national law reform projects, government service, or international organization service.


OuTrEAch&AdVAncEmEnTIMPLEMENTING THE PLAN

goALS

1. Allocate available Law College resources to implement this plan, including providing the necessary infrastructure support.

2. Adopt a comprehensive communications and marketing program to enhance the visibility of the work and accomplishments of the Law College consistent with this plan.

3. Increase the generation of revenues from sources other than tuition and state funding to support the implementation of this plan, including traditional philanthropy and other profit-generating activities that do not interfere with our primary responsibility to matriculating students.

4. Identify and develop additional measures to chart the progress of our implementation.

5. Monitor and regularly report on the Law College progress in implementing this plan,

Our plan is ambitious and wide-ranging. It should both excite and challenge members of the Arizona Law community. To implement it successfully, we must strive for excellence in everything we do. At the same time, we must recognize that achieving excellence may require us to be focused and selective in the scope of our undertakings and initiatives; and that we will need, on both an institutional and individual level, to make continuous adaptations and improvements in response to a dynamic and competitive environment.

TO THE ARIZONA LAW COMMUNITY

As we as a community move on to the greater challenge of implementing the plan and moving Arizona Law forward, the Strategic Planning Committee would like to express its sincere thanks to all of you for your active participation in the creation of this plan, which, ultimately, is the product of your diverse and immeasurably valuable contributions.

ThE STRATEgiC PLANNiNg CommiTTEE

Michael Chiorazzi, Associate Dean and Professor, co-chair

John Swain, Professor, co-chair

Ellen Bublick, Professor

G. Jack Chin, Professor

Zelda Harris, Clinical Professor

David Marcus, Associate Professor

Thomas Mauet, Professor of Law

Paula Nailon, Assistant Dean

Lawrence Ponoroff, Dean

Bonnie Schlichting, Administrative Associate

Francis Sjoberg, Class of 2011

Gordon Waterfall, Class of 1965

The University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law P.O. Box 210176 • Tucson, Arizona 85721-0176

www.law.arizona.edu

Documents

Strategic Plan