A remarkable reunion for the class of 1969

This past weekend, UC Davis School of Law celebrated our 2019 reunions, bringing alums from the classes of 1969, 1974, 1979, 1984, 1989, 1994, 1999, 2004, 2009, and 2014. It was a very special event because it marked our very first 50-year reunion, for UC Davis Law’s first graduating class, the class of ’69.

A beautiful fall day began with a special reception for the class of 1969, with more than 20 members of the class in attendance. Good friends reunited for a congratulatory champagne toast and time to catch up with old friends. The class of 1969 was filled with risk takers, willing to attend a start-up law school.

In the afternoon, all the classes congregated in the King Hall courtyard for a wonderful reception followed by a dinner in the Buehler Alumni Center. UC Davis School of Law owes much to the class of ’69. The class was literally groundbreaking.

These students started before there was a building, and before the school was accredited by the American Bar Association. The class of '69 lobbied to name the law school building after Martin Luther King Jr.  Housed in King Hall, UC Davis Law from its inception has been devoted to social justice. We believe in offering the highest quality of legal education to students from all backgrounds.

Our class of 2022 is our most diverse ever. Students of color compose 57 percent of the class, and women make up 59 percent. Twenty-six percent are first-generation college graduates. Forty percent receive need-based aid. Our Immigration Law Clinic teaches students how to represent immigrants in dire circumstances who otherwise could not afford counsel. News of the clinic’s great work has spread, and we received more than $1.3 million this year in support for the clinic.

The law school has been very fortunate to receive more than $3.5 million in overall private support this year, much of it from generous alums. Russ Jura, class of ’74, has pledged $1.25 million from his estate toward a pre-existing scholarship in his name. Russ could not make it on Saturday, but he deserves our thanks.

Over the years, UC Davis Law has been able to build a world-class “majority-minority” faculty unprecedented among top law schools. Our faculty consistently finishes in the top 25 in scholarly impact. Faculty attended the reunion, along with a member of the founding faculty, Professor Ed Rabin, who came all the way from Boston. We missed a founding faculty member who taught here for 50 years, Professor Floyd Feeney. He was at least year’s reunion -- and many more. Floyd sadly passed away in January.

Our reunions were a success because of the hard work of the dedicated reunion committees.
The classes of 1989 and 2009 had especially great turnouts. They were neck and neck in attendance, with 41 alums from ’09, and 40 from ’89.

The classes celebrated at the reunion contain some of law school’s most accomplished graduates. There are many judges, law firm partners, and other accomplished attorneys. The class of 1984 counts both Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye, the Chief Justice of California, and Darrell Steinberg, mayor of Sacramento and former state Senate President pro Tem. They were not there Saturday, but they do a lot for the school.

We had a great group of Alumni Association board members in attendance: Janet Stone Herman and Penny Westfall, also from the class of ’84; Traci Bone, class of ’94; John McKinsey, class of ’99; and Eli Makus and David Prahl, Class of ’04. Kim Lucia, class of ’09, who recently completed a stint as board president, was in attendance with her class. Kim was succeeded as president by Kim Chase, class of 2007. She offered some warm remarks to the alums in attendance. I had the honor of filling in the King Hall faithful on the great goings-on at the law school.

It was a great night of alumni reunions!