On hand were members of the Law School faculty and staff, as well as special guests from the Campbell University, including: Dr. Jerry Wallace, President; Dr. Dwaine Green, Provost & Vice President of Student Affairs; and Mr. Jim Roberts, Vice President for Business & Treasurer.

 

Dean Essary opened the program by quoting Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, “Dream no small dreams for they have no power to move the hearts of men.” She continued by talking about the dream of Dr. Norman Adrian Wiggins, to create a leading school of legal education at Campbell and how, in 1976, that dream was realized. “As we enter a new phase in the life of Campbell Law School, we are a part of the second big dream,” said Essary.

 

Dr. Jerry Wallace acknowledged Campbell Law’s storied past while looking forward to a bright future in Raleigh. “The beginning of the Law School was a new era for Campbell University. The rest of the story has been the growth, success, vision and history of the Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law,” he said. “We are going to miss the Law School in Buies Creek, but the move to Raleigh will help all the programs at Campbell University.”

 

Professors Margaret Currin and Pat Hetrick shared their memories of the early days of the Law School and how they ring familiar even now. “Touring the new facility with a hard hat on reminds me of touring Old Kivett with a hard hat on,” said Professor Currin. “Even in those early days, we knew we were getting a top notch legal education. That has not changed.” Professors Tom Anderson and Charlie Lewis also participated in the program.

 

Whitfield Gibson, the SBA President, acknowledged that while the Law School is moving to Raleigh, “Many things are going to come with us. Hard work, professional responsibility, ethics and a sense of community developed here at Campbell Law will come with us to Raleigh.”

 

Dean Essary closed the celebration ceremony by reflecting upon the dream in 1976 to create a Law School at Campbell. “Our obligation is to continue and grow the dream and mission of Norman Adrian Wiggins and the law school he created,” said Essary.

 

Since its founding in 1976, the Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law at Campbell University has developed lawyers who possess moral conviction, social compassion and professional competence, and who view the law as a calling to serve others and create a more just society. The School has been recognized by the American Bar Association (ABA) as having the nation’s top Professionalism Program and by the American Academy of Trial Lawyers for having the nation’s best Trial Advocacy Program. Campbell Law boasts more than 3,000 alumni, including 2,000 who reside and work in North Carolina. For the past 20 years, Campbell Law’s record of success on the North Carolina bar exam is unsurpassed by any other North Carolina law school. In September 2009, Campbell Law School will relocate from the main Campbell University campus to a new location in downtown Raleigh. For more information, visit www.law.campbell.edu.

# # #