“Celebrate what you want to see more of.” – Tom Peters
We continue to be a law school on the rise. This past week was one of the best weeks in our law school’s proud history.
Tomorrow, Election Day, is an important day in the life our nation. I’ll end this message with a few words about that …. but first, our week to remember:
- We had the highest pass rate in Ohio on the July 2018 bar exam!
- We held our very successful 2nd annual Hall of Fame celebration!
- We announced a very generous gift from a distinguished alumnus!
- We hosted Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg!
First, Cleveland-Marshall had the highest pass rate in the state of Ohio on the July 2018 Bar Exam! Our first-time passage rate was 93%, well above the Ohio law school average of 79%. You may recall that Cleveland-Marshall also had the highest passage rate for first-time takers of the February Ohio Bar Exam, so we have been first in the state two consecutive times!
Critical to our success is our outstanding team. Special thanks to Director of Bar Preparation Mary Jane McGinty, Professor and Director of Student Success Heidi Gorovitz Robertson, our Academic Support Team led by Nick De Santis and Michelle Landever Bond, the members of the Academic Support/Bar Passage Committee, and the many faculty members who helped mentor and encourage our bar takers.
Second, our 2nd Annual C|M|LAW Hall of Fame Celebration honoring our 2018 C|M|LAW Hall of Fame Honorees was a great success. Special thanks to Cleveland State University President Harlan Sands for joining us for the celebration. See our CMLAW 2018 Hall of Fame Photos and our Cleveland-Marshall College of Law 2018 Hall of Fame Video.
Third, we announced the creation of the P. Kelly Tompkins Leadership and Law Program. This was made possible by an extraordinarily generous $750,000 gift from Kelly Tompkins ’81. The C|M|LAW Tompkins Leadership and Law Program seeks to educate students not only to be great lawyers but also to be great leaders. I will devote a future Monday Morning Message to this exciting program.
Fourth, our Law Alumni Association and Women Law Students Association (WLSA) hosted U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg for a Live Skype Conversation with C|M|LAWProfessor Emerita Jane Picker (2017 C|M|LAW Hall of Fame Honoree), and Cleveland-Marshall Professor Ken Kowalski to a crowded Moot Court Room. Justice Ginsburg noted that she visited Cleveland-Marshall several times at the invitation of Professor Jane Picker before she was appointed to the Supreme Court. We then showed the acclaimed documentary film “RBG” about Justice Ginsburg. Special thanks to Judge Michelle Paris ‘84, President of the Alumni Association, Stacey McKinley ‘97, Kevin Butler ’01, Sharon Baden, President of WLSA, and Professor Ken Kowalski for their leadership in organizing this historic event.
Finally, a word about tomorrow, Election Day. I know something about the power of one vote. In 1990 I was elected Ohio Attorney General in the closest statewide election in Ohio history. That record still stands. My margin is easy to remember: 1,234 votes out of 3.4 million votes cast, less than one vote per precinct, earning me the dubious nickname, “Landslide Lee.”
As Rev. Theodore Hesburgh, former President of the University of Notre Dame once said, “Voting is a civic sacrament.” Please exercise your right to vote. Trust me, it can make a difference.
Have a great day. Have a great week.
My best,
Lee
For copies of past messages, please go to this link: Monday Morning Messages.
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My views in all my Monday Morning Messages are my personal views alone and do not reflect the views of our Law School or our University.