Washburn Law Journal
Editor's Note
Volume 40, No. 3 (Spring 2001)
It is with the greatest admiration and respect that the Washburn Law Journal dedicates Volume Forty to the late Distinguished Professor of Law Raymond L. Spring. Professor Spring's work has served as the foundation for many of the outstanding programs and classes Washburn Law School offers today, and his work in the area of Law and Mental Disability has been recognized nationally. In Issue Three, we are pleased and proud to honor Professor Spring through a poem by Distinguished Professor of Law David L. Ryan, as well as an essay that was delivered by Dean James M. Concannon at Professor Spring's memorial service this spring.
As has become tradition, Issue Three features articles from authors who presented at tort seminars this year at Washburn Law School. These seminars were made possible through the Ahrens Chair in Tort Law. Named in honor of Professor Emeritus James R. Ahrens, long-time torts professor, the chair was created in 1986 through a generous gift from Wichita attorney Gerald Michaud and his law firm, Michaud, Cordry, Michaud, Hutton and Hutton. Since that time, the Ahrens Chair endowment has sponsored many visiting professors and special events at Washburn Law School. The Journal also reaps benefits from the endowment by being given the honor of publishing the papers presented by visiting professors sponsored by the Ahrens Chair.
While the Journal takes great pride in its publication of articles from professors, judges and practitioners, it is equally as proud of the accomplishments of its students writers. Each year, at an annual awards banquet, outstanding student works are honored by two means: the GNIP-GNOP Awards and the Faculty Awards. The 2000-2001 award recipients are as follows:
GNIP-GNOP Awards
The Free Society of GNIP-GNOP was established by nine Washburn Law School alumni who sought to recognize excellence in legal education. A long kept secret, the society now admits its unique name is based on the group's love of PING-PONG. The group has given generously form any years, and awarded cash prizes to the following students this year:
Best Note:
William P. Nacy, Survival Underwater: Wholly-Unsecured Security Interests in Bankrupcy
Best Comment:
Nathan D. Leadstrom, Sanders v. American Broadcasting Companies, Inc.: Does it Mean the End to the Use of Hidden Cameras in Undercover Media Investiontions? [Sanders v. American Broadcasting Companies, Inc., 85 Cal Rptr. 2d 909 (Cal. 1999)]
FACULTY AWARDS
The Washburn Law School faculty established its own awards for best Note and Comment to honor outstanding student pieces. In 1999, the awards were renamed in memory of the late Professor John F. Kuether, long-time faculty advisor to the Journal. The winning students were as follows:
Best Note:
Mary E. Christopher, Time to Bite the Bullet: A Look at State Implementation of Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) Under Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act
Best Comments:
Sarah McLean, Harassment in the Workplace: When will the Reactions of Ethnic Minorities and Women be Considered Reasonable? [Watkins v. Bowden, 105 F.3d 1344 (11th Cir. 1997)];
and
Luke Sobba, The Only Votes that Count: The Kansas Supreme Court Applies Common Law, not Common Sense, to Invalidate School Board Elections [Unified School District No. 501 v. Baker, 6 P.3d 848 (Kan. 2000)]
Finally, the Volume Forty Board of Editors would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the entire Washburn Law Journal staff on an incredible year. Our heartfelt thanks goes to our advisor, Professor Myrl Duncan, as well as our secretary, Tonya Worley, for their daily efforts in helping us keep such a time-honored tradition alive. Furthermore, we will forever be indebted to the Faculty and Staff of Washburn Law School for their guidance and support. Last, but certainly not least, we would like to thank our families and friends for their patience and appreciation over the last year.
On a personal note, I would like to thank our editors, Amy W., Mark, Amy O., Bill, Mary, Tony, and Matt, for truly demonstrating that excellence is most readily and enthusiastically achieved by those who share a common purpose founded in ambition, loyalty, and kindness.
L.A.B.
Professor of the Year
Each year, the graduating class votes to honor a member of the Washburn University School of Law faculty as the William O. Douglas Outstanding Professor of the Year. Professor James B. Wadley was the recipient of this honor for the 2000-2001 academic year.
Professor Wadley holds a B.S. from Utah State University (1969); an M.S. from Utah State University (1969) and a J.D. from Tulane University School of Law (1972). Prior to joining the Washburn Law School faculty, Professor Wadley taught law in England, studied law in Mexico and performed legal research in Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda. He lived for two years in Uruguay, Paraguay and Argentina as a missionary for the Mormon Church. Professor Wadley now directs the Washburn Rural Law Center. His teaching responsibilities include Agricultural Law, Water Rights, Entertainment Law, Creative Thinking for Lawyers, Patents, Trademarks and Copyrights and Native American Law.
The class of 2001 selected Terri L. Bezek as Adjunct Professor of the Year. Professor Bezek received her B.A. degree from Washburn University and her J.D. from Washburn University School of Law. She teaches Conflicts of Law. Ms. Bezek is the Director of Central Research at the Kansas Court of Appeals. The Washburn Law Journal is pleased to recognize the contributions of Professors Wadley and Bezek by acknowledging them in Volume 40, Issue 3.
Dean James M. Concannon
After serving thirteen years as Dean of Washburn University School of Law, Dean James M. Concannon will return to full-time teaching and research on July 1, 2001.
In the history of the Law School, only one dean, Harry K. Allen, has served longer, serving a little over fourteen years prior to 1937. Only nine current deans of U.S. law schools have served longer in their positions.
Dean Concannon should take great pride in what our faculty, staff, students and alumni have achieved during his tenure as dean. Under his guidance, the Washburn Law Library received a major addition, and was recognized by The Law Library Journal as hosting the most comprehensive and influential source of legal information on the internet at its homepage "WashLaw." Student satisfaction also soared under the leadership of Dean Concannon: the National Jurist survey of 20,000 law students and 170 law schools nationwide concluded that Washburn ranked second in the nation in overall student satisfaction, and first in satisfaction with faculty and facilities. This should come as no surprise, as Washburn law students have been quick to point out the "open-door policy" that earned Washburn a reputation for offering perhaps the most practical and student-centered legal education in the nation.
Dean Concannon also played an instrumental role in the development of five new certificate programs in which students develop expertise in important areas of law practice; publication of the American Bar Association's Family Law Quarterly; extension of the legal research and writing program to the entire first year; a four-fold increase in the number of alumni contributing to the law school annually; and a thirty-six percent rate of contribution that is only second to the University of Virginia among public law schools and in the top eight of all U.S. law schools.
These are but a few examples of the legacy Dean Concannon has left within our school. While the law school community will feel his absence as dean, we are grateful he will continue to share his wisdom with us as a full-time faculty member. Thank you, Dean Concannon, for your leadership, good humor, and dedication.
L.A.B.
