Expanding Faculty, Diverse Student Body
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| Covey Oliver |
Two early appointments reflect Fordham's commitment to strengthen the
faculty with prominent scholars. Clarence Morris (1903- 1985) joined in
1953, produced Morris on torts, and became active in research on law and
the behavioral sciences. He subsequently taught and published in legal
philosophy, Chinese legal thought and the judicial process. Covey Oliver
(1913- ), an acclaimed scholar of international law, moved from Berkeley
in 1956 and later co-authored the ALl Restatement of the Foreign Relations
Law of the United States (1963) and The International Legal System (1973).
Among Fordham's appointments who remained for many years were Curtis
Reitz, a 1956 Penn Law graduate; Richard Lonsdor£ who taught psychiatry
and law; Howard Lesnick; Almarin Phillips; Robert Gorman; and Robert Mundheim,
corporate finance and securities regulation. By 1970 the standing faculty
had grown to 29, two-thirds again as large as in 1952.
The goal of 550 students was reached by 1967, when the entering class
LSAT scores averaged in the 90th percentile. More than forty percent of
the student body enjoyed some form of financial aid. In 1967 the Law School
also first committed itself to increasing the presence of women and minorities
in the student body. Within seven years, the number of women had tripled
and that of minorities had increased seven times over.
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| View of Law Complex |
A $3.1 million building campaign was inaugurated in 1954. Construction
of student dormitories and a dining hall began in 1957, with major assistance
from the United States Housing and Home Finance Agency. They opened the
following May as the Owen J. Roberts and George Wharton Pepper Dormitories
and the Horace Stern Dining Hall.
Three years later, work started on two wings attached to the rear of
the main Law School building, housing five amphitheater classrooms, three
seminar rooms, twelve faculty offices, and the present administrative
office suite. The third and final stage was the renovation of Lewis Hall,
the 1900 landmark building. A new moot court and a new faculty lounge
were placed on the first floor, along with two seminar rooms and 33 offices.
More important, the library was enlarged to five floors with space to
house 400,000 volumes.
continued ...
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