Emeriti Meet New Faculty, Tour Renovation Work
A distinguished group of UC Davis School of Law emeriti faculty returned to King Hall on August 24 to enjoy a luncheon with Dean Kevin R. Johnson and the Law School's newest faculty members and tour the King Hall building, getting a first-hand look at the renovation work that is transforming the "old" King Hall.
Dean Emeritus Bruce A. Wolk and professors emeriti Joel C. Dobris, Edward H. Rabin, Mortimer D. Schwartz, and Martha S. West attended the luncheon and tour, along with Barbara Juenger, widow of Professor Emeritus Friedrich "Fritz" Juenger. Also at the luncheon were three new additions to the Law School faculty, Professors Ashutosh Bhagwat, Gabriel "Jack" Chin, and Angela Harris.
With guidance from Senior Assistant Dean for Administration Adam Talley, the emeriti toured the King Hall renovation work site, where construction crews are making rapid progress in the effort to upgrade the previously existing King Hall building to complement the new, state-of-the-art east wing. The visitors toured the second-floor classrooms, where work is underway to reconfigure seating and upgrade technological infrastructure, and viewed the adjacent classroom corridor, which has been newly opened to natural light.
"Seeing the new classrooms, it's tempting to come back and teach, but I'm not going to come back and teach!" said Professor West. "I can't wait to see when they open up the hallways and we have light all around us."
"It's quite amazing. The changes, all for the good, are really breathtaking to me," said Professor Dobris. "Seeing the old classrooms totally reoriented was almost shocking, and clearly, they are very much improved."
The group looked from the second story down at the foundation work for the Southwestern Addition, which will provide about 3,000 square feet of new space for the Mabie Law Library, study rooms, and offices. The tour then moved on to the basement, where excavation work has been completed and crews are beginning improvements that ultimately will provide expanded office spaces for student organizations, the new Russell Jura '74 Student Locker Alcove, new reading rooms, and an expanded and improved student lounge.
"It's a beautiful addition," said former Dean Wolk, who was part of the original committee that planned King Hall. "To see that we have now been able to accomplish even more than our original dreams or ambition is just marvelous. I'm very impressed."
"It's great, of course," said Professor Rabin, a member of the King Hall founding faculty. "Who would have thought? When I first came here we were in temporary buildings, and we would come over every week or so and look at the hole in the ground where the Law School building was going to be and wonder if would ever really happen. This is going to be a wonderful improvement beyond anything we could have imagined."
Professor Schwartz, who founded the Mabie Law Library, also reminisced about King Hall's beginnings. "Those were the good old days," he said. "These are the better days."