First Monday - January 7, 2013

In this issue:

• College Sadly Notes Loss of Faculty Colleague
• Permanent Building Fund Approves Request for Continued Investment in Historic Ada County Courthouse
• College Moves Forward with Concurrent Juris Doctor/Professional Science Masters Degree

College Sadly Notes Loss of Faculty Colleague

Calendar year 2012 ended on a profoundly sorrowful note for the College of Law, as the College received word that Professor Alan Williams (see photo) passed away on Sunday, December 30. Professor Williams joined the law faculty in 2006. He held a baccalaureate degree from Virginia Tech and a Juris Doctor degree (with honors) from the Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C. Before joining our law faculty he completed 20 years on active duty in the U.S. Marine Corps. In his last assignment, he served as a military judge in the Eastern Judicial Circuit of the Navy-Marine Corps trial judiciary. At the College of Law, his teaching included Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, Civil Procedure, Evidence, and Trial Skills.

Professor Williams was a published scholar on national security legal issues. In addition, he served on the Idaho Supreme Court’s Committee on Civil Jury Instructions and Evidence Rules Advisory Committee. For several years he coached the College’s mock trial competition team, and he coached national criminal procedure moot court teams that received “best brief” honors in 2011 and 2012.

At the direction of the family, a private memorial service was conducted in Moscow on January 4, 2013.  Messages of condolence may be sent to the family in care of law faculty member Trapper Stewart, 875 Perimeter Drive, MS 2321, Moscow, Idaho 83844-2321.

Permanent Building Fund Approves Request for Continued Investment in Historic Ada County Courthouse

The Permanent Building Fund Advisory Council (PBFAC) has approved legislative appropriation requests that include $1.5 million for continued renovation of the old Ada County Courthouse on the Capitol Mall in Boise. The PBFAC requests also include $2.5 million as part of a funding package for an innovation and research building on the University of Idaho’s Moscow campus.

The old courthouse, which served as a hall of justice for eight decades, is undergoing phased renovation in preparation for planned use as the permanent home of the Idaho State Law Library and as an educational center for College of Law classes, continuing judicial education programs, and law-related civics education for the public. These synergistic uses will provide a new life for the historic building, and an efficient return on the investment of public resources.

If approved in the 2013 session of the Idaho Legislature, the $1.5 million appropriation would bring the total appropriated funding thus far up to $5 million out of $6 million estimated for the cost of the courthouse’s infrastructure modernization. (The Legislature also has appropriated $176,000 for planning of an Idaho Law Learning Center.) In addition, the University of Idaho has raised more than $1 million in private funding commitments for the “tenant specific” improvements needed to fulfill the purposes of the renovated building. The proponent agency for the renovation is the Idaho Department of Administration, and the collaborating entities are the Idaho Supreme Court and the University of Idaho.

Further information about the renovation project is available from the Division of Public Works in the Department of Administration. Information about the planned programmatic uses of the building can be obtained from Lee Dillion (see photo), the College’s Associate Dean for Boise Programs.

College Moves Forward with Concurrent Juris Doctor/Professional Science Masters Degree

The College of Law, which already has concurrent degree programs combining law with Accountancy, Environmental Science, Water Resources, and Bioregional Planning & Community Design, is now offering a concurrent Juris Doctor and Professional Science Masters (JD/PSM) degree. The PSM degree -- a part of the University of Idaho’s array of graduate-level interdisciplinary programs -- prepares graduates for science-related careers in business, government, or nonprofit sectors. The PSM curriculum currently focuses on sustainability science as it applies to natural resources and the environment. The curriculum merges rigorous study in science with training in management and communication skills necessary for a successful professional career.

Combining the PSM curriculum with the JD curriculum will give concurrent degree recipients a foundation of legal expertise, advanced scientific skills, and management skills, enabling them to work effectively in business and industry as well as in the legal profession, the judiciary, administrative agencies, and nonprofits. The concurrent JD/PSM degree, approved by the law faculty, was endorsed in the fall of 2012 by the University of Idaho Curriculum Committee and Faculty Senate. Further information about the JD/PSM degree is available on the College of Law website and from Professor Barbara Cosens (see photo).