On behalf of the entire Faculty of Law, I am delighted to welcome you to the 2011-12 academic year. This is the 99th year of legal education at the University of Alberta, which means that next year we will be celebrating our Centenary. The coming academic year will be a busy one as we organize a number of events to mark our one hundredth anniversary.
We intend to kick off our centenary celebrations with a gala dinner during alumni weekend in September 2012 at the Shaw Conference Centre. The Chief Justice of Canada, the Right Honourable Beverley McLachlin, has kindly agreed to be our keynote speaker. Chief Justice McLachlin was the gold medalist of the class of 1968, so we are especially pleased that she is able to join us.
We are also making arrangements to hold a Special Convocation for the Faculty of Law in June 2013 and to host an international conference entitled "The Future of Law School" from September 26-28, 2013.
I will also be working with the Law Students Association and other student groups to create opportunities for students to play an important role in our Centenary celebrations. I hope that you will consider getting involved and if you have ideas about events or activities that you would like to see, please contact me.
The excitement surrounding next year's Centenary should not detract from what promises to be a busy and productive year in 2011-12. We are fortunate to have a number of distinguished visitors joining us at the Faculty.
Madam Justice Andrea Moen of the Alberta Court of Queen's Bench will be here for the entire academic year as our Judge in Residence. She will be conducting research, giving guest lectures and helping us from time to time with our mooting program.
Professor Barry Sullivan of Loyola University in Chicago is spending the fall term with us as the Fulbright Visiting Chair in Legal Studies. Professor Sullivan will be pursuing research on access to government information in democratic societies and he has kindly agreed to teach a seminar in comparative constitutional law.
Dr. Jason Pierceson, Chair of the Department of Political Science at the University of Illinois, Springfield, will also be doing research at the Faculty as a Fulbright Scholar this fall. Among many other works he is the author of a book entitled Courts, Liberalism, and Rights: Gay Law and Politics in the United States and Canada, and he will be continuing his research into the role Canadian courts play in making public policy.
Finally, this is the very first year that the Faculty of Law will be offering a J.D. degree rather than an LL.B. degree to our undergraduate students. The switch from the LL.B. degree to the J.D. was an initiative pursued by the Law Students Association and student representatives on Law Faculty Council. The change has been a long time in coming, but it is an excellent illustration of the impact thoughtful and engaged students can have on our program.
I hope you are looking forward to the new academic year. My faculty and staff colleagues join me in welcoming both new and returning students to what I am sure will be both an exciting and a fulfilling year.