13
F E ATURE
$100,00 of the $200,000 purchase price for the former Rolyat Hotel,
which had been in foreclosure. In less than 10 years from the school’s
closing during World War II, Stetson Law had rebounded and
relocated, ushering in a new era.
Experience Is the Best Teacher
Stetson Law possesses a long-held belief in the value and power
of experiential learning. This facet of the Stetson Law experience
underwent a boom in the 1980s, when several new programs were
added, including an elder law clinic, a joint J.D.-M.B.A. program,
a federal judicial internships program, and a pro bono requirement
for graduation.
In 1986, the Elder Law Clinic opened, presenting students with an
opportunity to represent and provide legal services to low-income
seniors in the Tampa Bay region. Supervisory attorneys offered
guidance to the students. This focus on elder law was taken to the
national level with the establishment of the Stetson University
College of Law Center for Law and Aging in 1995.
When founded in 1988, the Federal Judicial Internship Program
was considered a relatively uncommon offering for a law school.
Over time, through this program, hundreds of Stetson Law
students have benefited from their roles as part-time clerks for
federal judges in the Middle District of Florida, which stretches
from the Georgia border to Naples, Fla.
By the end of the decade, Stetson Law students had seven clinics
and centers from which to choose. They each provided an extremely
valuable and enriching experience to all who participated. Along
with the Elder Law Clinic, they included the Federal Civil Rights
Clinic, the Stetson Labor Law Clinic, the Center for Labor-
Management Dispute Resolution, the Public Defender Clinic, and
the Prosecution Clinic, as well as a new Criminal Appeals Clinic.
Of course these continued to evolve and grow during the past
40 years to the college’s current pillars: Center for Excellence
in Advocacy; Center for Excellence in Elder Law; Center for
Excellence in Higher Education Law and Policy; Institute
for the Advancement of Legal Communication; Institute for
Biodiversity Law and Policy; Institute for Caribbean Law and
Policy; and Veterans Law Institute – all of which have produced
groundbreaking legal and academic work through talented
faculty and students. Not to mention the more than 300 clinic
and externship opportunities, LL.M. and M.J. programs, and
international programs Stetson Law now offers.
KEY INITIATIVES TO ADDRESS COVID-19 PANDEMIC
• Launching the Safer Stetson website with up-to-date
information, resources, and FAQs
• Launching the Everbridge mobile app for daily
COVID-19 screening
• Creation of designated Wellness Stations as main
access points during busy business hours and class
times where students, employees, and visitors are
required to stop for health screening
• The installation of physical barriers in classrooms and
offices where there is an increased potential for close
contact with others
• Improving air quality via HVAC systems
• Investment to outfit classrooms with the necessary
technology for dual-delivery classes, as well as giving
both the Great Hall and Mann Lounge major
technology upgrades so those large spaces can be
utilized as classrooms
• Partnership with iSelectMD that provides Stetson
Law students 24/7 access to real-time virtual medical
consultations with physicians for COVID-19 concerns
• Extensive new cleaning regimens using Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) approved cleaning solutions
and tools, including electrostatic sprayers
• Color-coded Stetson branded lanyards to help
distinguish among students, employees, and visitors
• Periodic testing of students and employees
• Stetson Law purchased face coverings for all students
and employees and implemented a strict Face
Covering Policy
• Vaccinations available on campus
From left, Judge Raphael Steinhardt, then Institute Director Michael Allen, and then Interim
Dean Royal Gardner cut the ribbon at Stetson’s new Veterans Law Institute on May 31, 2012.
Graduates who walked in the December 2020 ceremonies adhered to
safety guidelines, including wearing masks.