History
Florida International University worked towards the creation of a public law school in South Florida for many years, beginning with the 1986 appointment of Modesto A. Maidique as University president. Maidique met resistance from the Florida Board of Regents, which had a number of graduates of other Florida law schools, and opposed the opening of any new public law schools in the state. The establishment of this institution was finally realized in 2000, when Governor Jeb Bush pushed the project through the state legislature, along with the re-establishment of a law school at Florida A & M University.
Shortly thereafter, the College of Law hired Leonard Strickman as its inaugural Dean. Strickman, a Yale Law School graduate, had previously served as Dean of the Northern Illinois University College of Law and the University of Arkansas School of Law, and had been a member of the ABA Accreditation Committee during the 1990s, and had chaired 15 ABA accreditation site visits.
The College of Law is one of the university's 26 schools and colleges and was founded in 2000. It later opened its doors in August 2002 and received provisional accreditation from the American Bar Association in August 2004, and was granted full accreditation on December 1, 2006. The inaugural class graduated on May 22, 2005.
FIU, preparing for only its second graduation in Spring 2006, had passing scores from 19 of 22 students who took the Bar exam in February 2006. The state average — including graduates from all 10 Florida law schools and out-of-state graduates who took the Florida test — was 73.2 percent.
On February 10, 2007, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, an Associate Justice for the United States Supreme Court, headed the Dedication of the new law school building. She formally dedicated the building and delivered a keynote address along with other dignitaries. The Rafael Diaz-Balart Hall Dedication took take place at the U.S. Century Bank Arena and was preceded and followed by tours of the new law school building.
In May 2009, the institution announced that United States Attorney R. Alexander Acosta had been selected to replace Strickman as Dean, with the latter's retirement from the position.
Read more about this topic: Florida International University College Of Law
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