Law College to Mark 10-Year Affiliation with MSU

For Release October 17, 2005

Marketing & Communications
400 Law College Building
East Lansing, MI 48824-1300

Contact:
Barbara Anselmo
517/432-6848

Michigan State University College of Law will celebrate its 10-year affiliation with Michigan State University on Friday, October 21, 2005, from 4:00-5:00 p.m., with a reception and dedication ceremony at the Law College Building on the MSU campus.

The ceremony will commemorate the contributions of John W. Beaumont, one of the law college’s first professors and an 1882 alumnus of the State Agricultural College, known later as Michigan State College and now Michigan State University. MSU College of Law Assistant Dean Andrea Campbell will present two commemorative plaques to Michigan State University, one to be located at Beaumont Tower and the other at the Law College Building.

In 1928, John Beaumont and his wife Alice donated more than $100,000 to Michigan State College for the construction of a memorial bell and clock tower. The tower, which memorialized faculty members whom Beaumont admired and respected, was built on the site of the former College Hall, the first classroom building at MSU. It became known as Beaumont Tower even though it was intended as a memorial to others. Later, Beaumont donated his extensive and valuable personal library collection to MSU.

MSU College of Law was founded as the Detroit College of Law in 1891. To extend its commitment to educational excellence, the college affiliated with MSU in 1995 and moved to MSU’s East Lansing campus in 1997. The move enabled the law college to build state-of-the-art facilities and to provide the benefits of a Big Ten campus.

MSU College of Law strengthened its affiliation with Michigan State University in 2004, becoming more closely aligned academically. The association between the two schools has led to a comprehensive interdisciplinary legal education program at the law college. Today, the college is one of only two private law schools to be affiliated with a research university.

# # #