King Hall Community Celebrates Ribbon-Cutting and Open House
UC Davis School of Law officially opened the King Hall building's new east wing with a Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony and Open House on September 3. More than 250 faculty, students, staff, alumni, university officials, and special guests turned out to celebrate the occasion, listen to speakers including Dean Kevin R. Johnson and UC Davis Chancellor Linda Katehi, watch the ribbon-cutting, and tour the spectacular new facility. 
"It is a wonderful day for the University, for the School of Law, and for all of us individually," said Chancellor Katehi. "The opening and dedication of this new wing of King Hall represents the beginning of a new era, not only for the School of Law, but for our university. It is a symbol of our determination to build on the achievements of the past and of all of those who worked so hard for so many years, and accomplish even greater things in the years to come."
"We're a world-class law school with a world-class faculty, world-class students, world-class staff, world-class alumni, and now, with our new wing and upcoming renovation, we have a world-class facility," Dean Johnson said. He thanked the many donors and supporters in attendance for making the new east wing a reality. "Through your efforts, and with the help of countless supporters over the course of more than a decade, the School of Law now has a state-of-the-art facility befitting its status as one of the world's great law schools," he said.
Former Dean Perschbacher provided perspective on the effort to build the new wing, which began under his leadership more than 12 years ago. "You've no doubt heard the Chinese proverb that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step," he said. "What the proverb fails to mention is that the thousand-mile journey actually consists of two million separate steps, and likewise the journey to open this new east wing of King Hall was the result of many thousands of steps taken by all of those we see gathered here this morning."
Also addressing the audience were William and Inez Mabie Family Foundation Director Ron Malone, Thomas Hacker of Thomas Hacker Architects, S & P Company President and General Counsel Yeoryios Apallas '72, and state Senators Lois Wolk and Darrell Steinberg '84.
The new wing is an aesthetically striking, functionally advanced facility that can accommodate the latest technologies and provide tremendous flexibility for the Law School as it continues to develop well into the future. The building features abundant natural light and transparent surfaces, contributing to an overall ambience of brilliance and openness, and reflecting the highest aspirations and public spirit of the Law School.
The new wing adds 18,000-square-feet of assignable space, housing the new Kalmanovitz Appellate Courtroom, additional classrooms, office space, and more. The new courtroom will enable the Law School to host oral arguments of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth District, the California Supreme Court, and California Court of Appeal. New office space has allowed the California Law Revision Commission to move into King Hall, providing opportunities for increased collaboration with Law School faculty and students.
The new wing incorporates many environmentally responsible advances, including the use of recycled denim jeans for insulation, lights that turn off automatically when rooms are empty, a design that maximizes natural light, and windows that deflect solar heat.
The project was financed with $17.9 million in state bond funds, $5.5 million raised from private donors and $3.9 million from other campus funds. Fundraising for the construction project's renovation phase is ongoing, with the Law School seeking to raise an additional $2.4 million to improve infrastructure and aesthetics and bring the existing King Hall building into conformity with the new addition.
The Ribbon-Cutting event drew coverage from a variety of media including the Sacramento Bee, the National Law Journal, Sacramento Business Journal, Sacramento Press, and KCRA-3.