A Message from Our Dean

Thank you for your interest in our new School of Law. I am pleased with the progress we have made as our first class of 20 students completes its second semester of law school. Our small classes have given our students a unique legal education and the opportunity to have a personal relationship with our faculty and staff. I have also been amazed at the reaction of the Delaware bench and bar to our School of Law. An amazing number of judges and practitioners have responded to our call for mentors, speakers, adjuncts and internships. All of these efforts benefit our students in myriad ways and contribute to the success of our first- year full time class in finding a legal experience for the summer!

We are now in the process of recruiting our second entering class. I won’t repeat here the unique attributes of our School of Law that are detailed throughout our website. However, I wanted to use this message to talk about two traits that are an integral part of the Wilmu Law experience. The first can be summed up in one word – CURIOSITY. Despite differences in background and experience, our faculty and staff were hired because they are all curious people. We all also strive to inspire curiosity in our students. Although we certainly emphasize learning the law and passing the bar, we want our students also to be curious about the law, to reflect on the broader theory of the law and its social impact.

We also want everyone in our School of Law be a QUESTION ASKER (a phrase I borrowed from the philosopher Hannah Arendt). Question asking is the way in which curiosity expresses itself. In our classes, our faculty challenge all students to become question askers. This means more than just asking for clarification of a difficult concept. Our students are also expected to challenge why the law is the way it is. In addition, this trait is particularly important in the development of a new type of law school. I encourage our faculty, staff and students to question everything. I perceive our students as partners in the evolution of our School of Law and interpret being student centered as including the importance of student input as to what we can do better. Hannah Arendt believed that the ability to ask questions distinguished humans from all other life on the planet. While I may not be sure of that, I am convinced that being unafraid to ask questions is essential to being a good lawyer and helping us create an innovative School of Law.

If you are interested in a quality legal education and developing these traits in yourself, you should seriously consider attending the Wilmington University School of Law. We are doing things differently here and we may be the fit for which you are searching. The faculty, staff and I look forward to meeting you.

Sincerely,
Phillip Closius, J.D.
Dean, School of Law