David Gergen, adviser to four U.S. presidents, journalist and Harvard professor, says a focus on leadership education will allow Elon to create a distinctive law school that can have a significant impact on legal education. Details…
Gergen met with the Elon University School of Law Advisory Board, along with faculty and administrators, on March 17 at the Center for Creative Leadership in Greensboro. The seminar was focused on integrating leadership skills and perspectives into the new law school curriculum.
The law school will open in downtown Greensboro in fall 2006 led by Dean Leary Davis, who intends to make leadership a signature part of the program.
Gergen said a special emphasis on leadership education is missing at other law schools. “In my judgment, the stars are well-aligned for what you’re seeking to do,” Gergen said. “This is the right time, the right place and you’ve got the right people to make this work.”
Gergen said schools across the country are trying to find ways to develop students’ leadership skills and promote civic engagement. He said Elon is well-positioned to develop this focus in a law school.
“The culture of Elon is already one that encourages people to think about community service and about doing good things. It seems to me that conscience of Elon is something that could be brought into the law school and help distinguish it.”
At an evening banquet at the Greensboro Country Club honoring law school donors, Gergen told the audience they had helped provide a wonderful set of resources to use in building an outstanding program. “You have the opportunity to do something very special. You’re at a creative moment. Building Elon, and now building this extra dimension, a law school that makes a difference, that is a noble undertaking.”
At the banquet, Elon President Leo M. Lambert recognized Jim Melvin, president of the Joseph M. Bryan Foundation and Elon’s partner in the law school fundraising efforts. He presented Melvin with a Waterford crystal Phoenix symbolizing Elon’s athletics mascot, thanking him for his vision and energy and extraordinary persuasive power in making the school a reality.
Melvin said the creation of the law school is a historic moment. “This project will be paying dividends for this community hundreds of years from now,” Melvin said. “We’ve hooked our wagon to a world-class organization and I think they’re going to take us to the stars.”