The Law Library is pleased to announce a new exhibit, “A Tradition of Excellence: Distinguished Faculty Scholars at the University of Minnesota Law School,” now open in the Riesenfeld Rare Books Center, celebrating the rich tradition of extraordinary faculty and scholarship at the University of Minnesota Law School.
For more than a century, the Law School has fostered an outstanding tradition of scholarly excellence. The Law School’s commitment to preeminence in scholarship as well as teaching was initiated by its second dean, William Vance (1911-20). With university support, Vance’s vision of the Law School as a leading research institution came to fruition as he recruited promising young scholars from Minnesota and across the country. Among early standouts were Edmund Morgan, who became a renowned scholar of evidence, and Edward Thurston, who was equally prominent for his work on contract law. Vance also championed the transformation of the Law Library into a nationally recognized research collection under its first librarian, Arthur Pulling, and oversaw the birth of the Minnesota Law Review, first published in 1917.
Vance’s successor, Dean Everett Fraser (1920-1948), enhanced the prestige of the Law School through curricular reforms, a new building on Northrup Mall in 1928, and the recruitment of exceptional faculty. Fraser, himself a highly regarded scholar, was particularly successful in attracting outstanding faculty who remained at Minnesota for decades, including Maynard Pirsig (’25), William Lockhart, and Henry Rottschaefer. Both Pirsig and Lockhart later served as deans of the Law School. Minnesota Law also became a training ground for those, such as torts scholar William Prosser, who became leaders in legal education elsewhere. In 1958, for example, the law school deans of UCLA, USC, and Berkeley were all Minnesota graduates.
By the 1940s and 50s, the reputation of the Law School faculty for scholarly excellence was unassailable. Faculty members consistently contributed to law reform efforts at the local and national levels through the American Law Institute, the Uniform Law Commission, and the Judicial Conference of the United States. In what emerged as a golden period, notable faculty including Kenneth Culp Davis, Yale Kamisar, Stefan Riesenfeld, and Charles Alan Wright enriched the intellectual life of the Law School and the profession. In a succeeding generation, Robert Stein (’61) became one of the Law School’s outstanding scholars, and its dean from 1979 to 1994. The 1980s and 90s saw important scholarly contributions from distinguished leaders in their fields, among whom were Daniel Farber, Philip Frickey, Suzanna Sherry, and Gerald Torres. Today that strong tradition continues, as new generations of faculty flourish in an environment that nurtures important contributions to legal theory and practice.
The new exhibit highlights just a few of the Law School's distinguished scholars and their scholarship that has contributed to many fields of law in outstanding ways over the decades. The current faculty members included in the exhibit have earned prestigious distinctions, either as Regents Professors of the University of Minnesota, the highest honor the University bestows on its faculty, or as McKnight Professors, awarded to faculty to recognize and support high achievement.
“A Tradition of Excellence: Distinguished Faculty Scholars at the University of Minnesota Law School,” was created by the Curator of Rare Books and Special Collections, Ryan Greenwood, Archives and Digital Collections Associate, Sophia Daley, and Digital Technology Specialist, Joy Brown. In the creation of the exhibit, we are grateful for the support and guidance of Joan S. Howland, Associate Dean for Information and Technology, and Law School Dean William McGeveran. For more information about the exhibit, or to schedule a tour, please contact Ryan Greenwood (612-625-7323; rgreenwo@umn.edu).
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