Governor declares 'Dean Patricia D. White Day'

02/05/2008

Governor declares 'Dean Patricia D. White Day' 

 DeanWhite
Dean Patricia D. White 
     Gov . Janet Napolitano declared Tuesday, Feb. 5, as Dean Patricia D. White Day, in honor of the dean of the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law, who will be stepping down to teach next year.
     The proclamation was presented to White on Tuesday at the annual College of Law Alumni Luncheon, attended by more than 200 alumni gathered at the Arizona Biltmore.
     It said:
     "WHEREAS, Dean Patricia D. White became the first woman dean of a law school in Arizona having served for 9.5 years; and
     "Whereas, under Dean White's leadership the law school was renamed the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law, becoming the first in the history of the United States to be named after a woman, United States Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor; and
     "WHEREAS, Dean White tripled the ethnic diversity of the faculty and nearly doubled the number of faculty from over a 17:1 student to faculty ratio to under 10:1 while simultaneously more than doubling the annual number of student applicants; during which time the law school was rated as a top ten school for Hispanics by Hispanic Business Magazine; and
     "WHEREAS, Dean White led the growth of the school's Center for Law, Science, & Technology into the most comprehensive law and science center in the United States; presided over the renowned Indian Legal Program, and the opening of four new clinics; and
     "WHEREAS, Dean White established three new degree programs - the LL.M. in Tribal Policy, Law, and Government, the LL.M. in Biotechnology and Genomics and a Master of Legal Studies; developed two concurrent degree programs - M.D./J.D. partnership with the Mayo Clinic, and the J.D./Ph.D. in psychology, and the development of five certificate programs; and
     "WHEREAS, Dean White has encouraged and enhanced the ability of students to utilize their skills to help the community by expanding the Pro Bono Program from four projects to over 20 projects; delivering over 73,000 hours of free legal and law-related services in a single year;
    "NOW, THEREFORE, I, Janet Napolitano, Governor of the State of Arizona, do hereby proclaim February 5, 2008, as
     "Dean Patricia D. White Day"
     White thanked the governor, the Alumni Association and her staff.
     "It has been a great privilege to be the dean of the law school," she said. "The law school is in great shape, and the new dean will have a great treat in front of him or her." 
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