186
students graduate from Charleston School of Law
Inaugural
class receives diplomas in historic ceremony
MAY 19, 2007, Charleston, S.C. - The first class of students
- some 186 strong - graduated this afternoon from the Charleston
School of Law after three years of study. (See
photos.)
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CLASS
OF 2007 PROFILE
Almost
200 students started studying at the Charleston School of
Law when it opened in August 2004. Two-thirds (133 students)
were full-time students; some 64 began as part-time students
in the school's evening program.
Because
several part-time students accelerated their studies by
attending summer school, the Charleston School of Law today
will graduate 186 students in its first commencement ceremony.
Some
statistics for the graduating class:
Number:
186 students graduate with the Class of 2007.
Residency:
77 percent are S.C. residents; 23 percent are non-residents.
Gender:
56 percent are male; 44 percent are female.
Age:
The median age is 27. Ages of graduates range from 23 to
70.
Education:
The Class of 2007 includes graduates from 45 colleges and
universities. Two students have earned doctorate degrees;
13 percent have master's degrees.
Service:
The Class of 2007 has donated 15,946.05 recorded hours of
pro bono service to the community over the past three years.
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"These are our pioneers," said Dean Richard Gershon.
"These graduates are a group who will forever leave an impact
on the Charleston School of Law. They were our partners in building
the school to what it is now and to what it will become."
The school, which now is comprised of about 600 students in downtown
Charleston, opened in August 2004. It received provisional accreditation
from the American Bar Association in December 2006.
"Our new graduates will go on to be leaders in law, business,
government and society," Gershon said. "We're proud
of the work they did to help start the school, but even prouder
of their academic accomplishments."
Also today, the school awarded honorary doctorate degrees to
three well-known South Carolina leaders:
Hollings, who also served as commencement speaker for the ceremony,
reminded graduates that lawyers were among the greatest of American
leaders.
Invoking the names of American lawyers and patriots from Patrick
Henry, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, to Alexander Hamilton,
Abraham Lincoln and Franklin D. Roosevelt, Hollings urged the
Class of 2007 to use their talents and skills in law to help lead
the nation.
"Today as you graduate, America's heart is strong,"
Hollings said. "We've got strong communities, the most productive
industries, the most competitive society. People are ready, willing
and able to sacrifice. But we need, in their wake, the graduating
Class of 2007 - lawyers - to give her a steady hand. You can do
it."
The Class of 2007 also distinguished itself by giving almost
16,000 hours of pro bono, or free, public service to local and
state organizations over the last three years. The Charleston
School of Law is one of the few in the country that requires students
to donate at least 30 hours to public service projects as a requirement
of graduation.
