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December 9th 2004 • Printer version
 UO law professor Rennard Strickland named to powerful
national council that accredits
all U.S. law schools
University of Oregon law professor Rennard Strickland, one of the
foremost authors and experts on federal Indian law, will serve as one
of 21 decisionmakers on a powerful council that acts as the frontline
force for accreditation of all United States law schools.
On December 4, Strickland was elected to fill a vacancy on the American
Bar AssociationÃs Council on Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar.
In August, he will run for election to a full six-year term. The
council is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as the only
accrediting agency for law schools. One hundred and eighty-nine schools
now have ABA approval.
I am deeply honored to have been named to the council and hope to
continue to work on improving the quality and diversity of the legal
profession through education, Strickland said.
A legal historian of Osage and Cherokee heritage, Philip H. Knight
Professor of Law Rennard Strickland was dean of the UO School of Law
from 1997 to 2002. He pioneered the introduction of Indian law into
university curriculum, has authored a number of scholarly and popular
books on Native American law and culture, and was revision editor of
the Handbook of Federal Indian Law, the foundation text for the field.
Strickland is one of two Oregon law faculty who have served as
presidents of the Association of American Law Schools. With this
appointment, he becomes one of the few people to have served on the
governing boards of the three major legal education organizations the
AALS, the Law School Admission Council and the ABA education section.
The 400,000-member American Bar Association, based in Chicago, is the
worldÃs largest professional association for lawyers. When the ABA was
organized in Saratoga, New York, in August 1878, one of its first
standing committees was the Committee on Legal Education and Admissions
to the Bar. Written bar examinations were just coming into use at that
time. Although required by most states, the bar exam previously had
been largely oral and informal. The two subjects of legal education and
admissions to the bar were coupled from the ABA's founding and remain
so today.
The legal education section council determines law school adherence to
rigorous ABA standards and has the final say on accreditation
decisions. The section works with other groups on questions of
preparation of students for bar examinations.
Accreditation is critical to a law school's reputation and vitally
important to attracting students and faculty. In most states, students
must graduate from an ABA-approved law school before they can take the
bar exam.
FIND OUT MORE:
ABA approved law schools
ABA legal education section website:
Accrediting Agencies
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