Message from the Dean

Dear current and prospective students:

Welcome to the University of Arkansas School of Law. Each day our faculty, staff, and students strive to enhance the law school's 85 year tradition of excellence, and the strides we're making are evident everywhere you look. The School of Law is centrally located on our campus and appeals to the university's faculty and students, who are attracted by the beauty of our building and its amenities, including comfortable study lounges and an espresso cafe in our library. Our law school facilitates a complete educational experience, combining challenging classes taught by talented and dedicated law professors.

We have had quite an exciting start to the new school year. We began the semester with a moving presentation by Morris Dees, founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center, who exemplifies the positive difference the legal profession can make. And we are very proud of Donna Pettus, who became the first woman graduate of the School of Law to be named president of the Arkansas Bar Association.

Over the past several years, we have made significant progress in attracting one of the most diverse student bodies in American legal education, while significantly improving the academic profiles of our entering classes. We have created a layered curriculum that combines traditional classroom courses with extensive practice-oriented offerings, including a variety of practical "skills" courses, live client clinics, externships, and opportunities for pro bono service. A number of our students also participate in local, regional, and national trial, appellate advocacy, and other skills competitions with great success. Students with an interest in travel and international law can participate in our summer programs in Cambridge, England, and St. Petersburg, Russia, or in a number of other summer study abroad programs with which we are affiliated.

Students also have opportunities to conduct focused scholarly research. Students who qualify can participate in the publication of one of three law journals - the Arkansas Law Review, the Journal of Food Law & Policy, and the Journal of Islamic Law & Culture. In addition, our LL.M. Program in Agricultural and Food Law continues to be the only graduate law program in the United States that offers an LL.M. degree in agricultural law.

Most School of Law graduates become attorneys, while others pursue successful careers in business, politics, or other fields. Our alumni include the current governor of Arkansas, one of the state's U.S. senators, a former U.S. Secretary of Transportation, and a former U.S. Ambassador to the Gambia. Members of our faculty, including former President Bill Clinton and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, have also gone on to achieve political prominence.

I invite you to learn more about us. Continue to explore our web site. Our admissions officer, who can be reached at (479) 575-7645 or kmcgraw@uark.edu, will be happy to assist you in scheduling a visit to our campus. Nothing I can say in this space will be as enlightening as touring our beautiful new building, taking a stroll on the Senior Walk that winds through the University of Arkansas campus, observing an actual law school class, and speaking with our students and faculty. Don't be surprised if you fall in love with Fayetteville, a physically beautiful setting that combines the intimacy of a small college town with the excitement and attractions of a much larger city. 

I am very proud of what we have to offer, and I look forward to seeing you here.

Sincerely,

Cyndi Nance
Cynthia E. Nance, Professor of Law and Dean