Ave Maria School of Law
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Ave Maria School of Law, a Roman Catholic law school, located in Ann Arbor, Michigan, was founded in 1999. It received full accreditation by the American Bar Association in 2005.[1] In the 2008-2009 academic year, there were approximately 300 students enrolled from a variety of states, countries, and undergraduate institutions.[2]
Ave Maria espouses a natural law philosophy and teaches law within the context of the Catholic intellectual tradition. The curriculum of Ave Maria School of Law includes a three-semester Research, Writing and Advocacy Program, as well as several required courses that focus on law and ethics.[3]
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[edit] History
Tom Monaghan, founder of Domino's Pizza and former owner of the Detroit Tigers, supports the school through his Ave Maria Foundation and serves as the chairman of the board of governors of the school, which also includes Edward Cardinal Egan, Adam Cardinal Maida, and Michael Uhlmann and included before their deaths Bowie Kuhn and John Cardinal O'Connor.[4]
Ave Maria's beginnings lie in discussions between former Oakland County prosecutor Dick Thompson and Monaghan. In 1998, several professors left University of Detroit Mercy School of Law after a dispute regarding the invitation of a pro-choice Michigan Supreme Court justice to give the oath at the end of the school's Red Mass, providing a core faculty. With the financial support of Monaghan, Dobranski was recruited to serve as dean. The school currently has twenty-one professors including Robert Bork, one visiting professor, and six legal writing lecturers.
Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia assisted Ave Maria's leadership in developing the school's curriculum, and in 1999 Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas delivered the school's first annual Ave Maria Lecture.
The inaugural class entered the new school in 2000, and the school gained full accreditation from the American Bar Association in 2005.
The School of Law's Board of Governors has approved a move after the graduation of the class of 2009 to Naples, Florida.[5]
[edit] Ranking
In 2003, the first graduating class passed the Michigan bar examination at a rate of 93% among first-time takers, which was the top rate in Michigan. In 2004, the school had 100% Michigan bar passage rate, and in 2006, the passing rate was 96%, which is the highest overall among Michigan law schools.
Ave Maria's Moot court team has won top honors four out of the last 6 years.[6]
Ave Maria graduates have secured 54 prestigious judicial clerkships – 44 of these with federal courts.[7]
[edit] References
- ^ American Bar Association Grants Full Accreditation to Ave Maria School of Law [1]
- ^ [2]
- ^ [Curriculum https://www.avemarialaw.edu/index.cfm?event=academics.curriculum]
- ^ Board of Governors List (https://www.avemarialaw.edu/index.cfm?event=admin.BOG)
- ^ http://www.avemarialaw.edu/index.cfm?event=florida.future
- ^ http://www.avemarialaw.edu/index.cfm?event=academics.MootCourt
- ^ http://www.avemarialaw.edu/index.cfm?event=about.value
- "Premier National Catholic Law School to be Established in the Ann Arbor Area," Ave Maria School of Law media release, April 7, 1999
- "Ave Maria founder Tom Monaghan is a man of faith, plans and action," Marci Elliott, Naples Daily News, April 13, 2003. Archived at Catholic Education Resource Center, accessed October 9, 2006
[edit] External links
