UGA LAW SCHOOL DEDICATES DEAN RUSK HALL

Abstract

Tuesday, September 10, 1996

WRITER: Kathy R. Pharr, (706) 542-5172

CONTACT: Kathy R. Pharr

UGA LAW SCHOOL DEDICATES DEAN RUSK HALL

ATHENS, Ga. -- The University of Georgia School of Law will hold two days of ceremonies September 20-21 dedicating Dean Rusk Hall, its new $6-million dollar addition, and honoring the statesman for whom the facility is named.

Dean Rusk Hall, adjacent to Harold Hirsch Hall and UGA's main library, is the first new construction on North Campus since the law school annex was completed in 1981. Architects of the addition, The Hauseman Group of Atlanta, sought a harmonious merger of the modern structure with the existing buildings on North Campus, some of which date back to the early 1800s.

The result is a four-story, 40,000-square-foot addition which blends contemporary style and tradition. The brick facade consists of several hues, integrating the various brick colors of surrounding buildings, and the interior emphasizes openness.

As practical as it is aesthetically pleasing, Dean Rusk Hall facilitates a variety of contemporary demands. It provides permanent homes for the Dean Rusk Center for International and Comparative Law and the Institute of Continuing Judicial Education, a state-of-the-art electronic courtroom, multi-purpose classroom, reception hall, faculty offices, and the extensive personal library collection donated by retired faculty member Louis B. Sohn, one of the world's leading international law scholars.

"Dean Rusk Hall symbolizes the forward-looking pursuit of further excellence at the University of Georgia School of Law," said Edward D. Spurgeon, law school dean. "The wonderful new building will further enhance the quality of legal education, service and scholarship provided by Georgia's flagship university."

Construction of Dean Rusk Hall has been more than a decade in the making, and the project has involved three deans: plans were developed by The Hauseman Group at the direction of Dean J. Ralph Beaird; Dean C. Ronald Ellington oversaw most of the fundraising for the building and groundbreaking in 1992; and Dean Spurgeon has secured necessary additional funding and supervised the construction and furnishing. Ra-Lin and Associates of Carrollton was the building contractor.

Dean Rusk Hall honors the statesman who has been called "the greatest Georgian of the modern era." Mr. Rusk, who died in December 1994, served as U.S. Secretary of State during the administrations of John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson and was a faculty member at the University of Georgia for nearly a quarter of a century.

Mr. Rusk was the chief steward of foreign policy during the heart of the Cold War. A tough and able negotiator, he guided with a steadfast hand the creation of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, the Outer Space Treaty, the East-West trade bill and the beginnings of the SALT talks. His greatest accomplishment, Mr. Rusk often said, was adding eight years to the period when no nuclear bomb was dropped.

Mr. Rusk joined the University of Georgia law faculty in 1970 as the Samuel H. Sibley Professor of International Law. He became one of the law school's most popular professors, teaching an introductory course in international affairs and upper level seminars on law and diplomacy, constitutional law, and foreign affairs. He was the nucleus of the School of Law's renowned international program, and his presence helped attract a host of eminent scholars to the University campus. He was also instrumental in the development of UGA's Center for Global Policy Studies and the Center for East-West Trade Policy.

Dean Rusk Hall joins a number of recent campus additions, including the Performing and Visual Arts Center and the Ramsey Student Center for Physical Activities, funded by the increasingly important public-private funding partnership. More than $1.5 million was raised from private sources, chief among them, The Annenberg Foundation, J.B. Fuqua, Metropolitan Atlanta Community Foundation, Trust Company Bank Foundation and Associated Foundations, Trust Company Bank of Northeast Georgia, and the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation, Inc.

"Private contributions provide the margin of excellence that public funding alone cannot achieve," said Spurgeon. "We are most grateful to both the private donors and to the government leaders who spearheaded state and federal funding measures for Dean Rusk Hall."

A dedication luncheon will be held Friday, September 20, at 1 p.m. in The Classic Center in downtown Athens. Keynote speakers Elspeth D. Rostow, former dean of the University of Texas' LBJ School of Public Affairs and Stiles Professor Emerita in American Studies, and her husband, Walt W. Rostow, former special assistant to Presidents Kennedy and Johnson and professor at the LBJ Library and Museum at the University of Texas, will share their personal remembrances of Dean Rusk. A videotape presentation on Mr. Rusk's lifelong commitment to public service prepared by the Southern Center for International Studies will also be shown. Tickets for the luncheon for the general public are $15 each. For reservations, contact Alumni Programs Director Jill Birch at (706) 542-5190.

The formal dedication ceremony for Dean Rusk Hall will be held Saturday, September 21, at 2 p.m. on the North Campus Quadrangle. Distinguished speakers include Governor Zell B. Miller, Representative Larry Walker (D-Perry), and UGA President Charles B. Knapp. Dignitaries and major private donors will also be recognized. Following the ceremony, tours of the building will be given.

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SPECIAL FEATURES OF DEAN RUSK HALL:

Electronic Courtroom (For Use by UGA Law Students & Ga. Judges & Lawyers in Continuing Education Programs)

--Accommodates trial or appellate panel

--Has four mounted cameras to tape proceedings and a video visualizer which will project documents and exhibits onto a screen

--Graphics imaging software to reconstruct crime and accident scenes

--Local and Internet access for laptops so attorneys and judges may conduct legal research from their seats

--Advanced audio system

--In the near future, will include sophisticated videotape editing facilities and a CD-ROM self-study lab.

General Purpose Classroom

--Seats 80

--Lectern area supports the use of current multimedia instructional aides.

Institute of Continuing Judicial Education (Housed in Hirsch Hall Since 1977)

--State-funded program offers thousands of hours of mandated education and training for Georgia's judges and their staffs

Dean Rusk Center for International and Comparative Law (Housed in Waddell Hall Since its Creation in 1977)

--Faculty and student research provides insight into pressing global concerns such as disarmament, human rights, trade, maritime law and the environment.

--In recent years, Rusk Center researchers have advised government and private sector business leaders on NAFTA, GATT, the South African elections, trade with Japan, the Gulf War, the ethnic struggle in Bosnia and the Alaskan oil spill.

Louis B. Sohn International Law Library

--Two-level library housing more than 3,200 monographs from the personal library collection of retired Emily and Ernest Woodruff Professor of Law Louis B. Sohn.

--Professor Sohn taught at the law school for more than a decade and still visits regularly to teach minicourses and participate in seminars.

--Sohn attended the San Francisco conference which chartered the United Nations in 1945, and has counseled the UN and the State Department on numerous subjects, including the settlement of international disputes involving disarmament, human rights, and law of the sea.

Executive Boardroom

--Accommodates 28 people

Bronze Sculpture of Mr. Rusk

--Contributed in memory of the artist and sculptor, Laurie deBuys Pannell, by her family

--Located on the second floor across the hall from the executive boardroom at the entrance to the Sohn Library and Woodruff Professor's suite.

Faculty Offices and Reading Room

Reception Hall and Catering Kitchen

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