Levy Conference Center Dedication

Dedicatory Address by Michael A. Fitts

Reception	Remarks by Judith Rodin	Remarks by Sandra Day O'Connor

It is great to see so many members of our extended Penn Law family here to celebrate the 150th anniversary of one of the truly outstanding law schools in the world.

Before last week’s presidential election, we had counted on a terrific turnout for this Sesquicentennial Gala. But as soon as I heard that the Gore and Bush campaigns had dispatched squadrons of lawyers to Florida to oversee the election recount and investigate reports of voting irregularities, I had two major concerns: Was the nation plunging into a Constitutional crisis? And, was the Gala headed for a lower turnout?

Needless to say, Mike Fitts and I are relieved to see both a crisis averted and this Gala well attended.

Seriously, we are living in a time when the stature and influence of the University of Pennsylvania Law School continues to grow and grow.

Let me quickly mention a few examples. First, the crash course in civics that the whole country has taken the past ten days has clearly raised the stock of the National Constitution Center, for which the Penn Law School is proud to serve as the academic partner.

Second, I am especially proud that this year, our Law School became the first law school in history to win the Pro Bono Publico Award from the American Bar Association.

Third, in this age of e-commerce, health care uncertainty, and burgeoning new technologies, no place could possibly be better to study law than Penn, where faculty and students enjoy close ties to the Wharton School, our School of Medicine, the Annenberg School for Communication, and our other outstanding schools.