Thank You From the Dean – and Welcome to Amy Sollins, Institutional Advancement

December 2, 2010 (sent to all alumni)

Like our 1L students, I am approaching the end of my first semester at UC Hastings College of the Law. I share with our students that exhilaration of starting a great adventure - though I'm glad I won't be facing a set of final exams in a few weeks! Since arriving at UC Hastings this summer, I have enjoyed meeting everyone, whether it is the terrific alumni of whom we boast, the students who will join them soon, the faculty whose work has changed the law, or the staff who make everything possible. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank some of the many people who have been involved in a roll-out that has taken me from coast to coast (and beyond).

I've been overwhelmed by the positive response at our receptions. A total of 850 alumni came to them, along with more than 175 alumni who attended the Community-Wide Event at San Francisco City Hall in October; counting all our activities, I've met an estimated 1850 graduates, or approximately one in ten of you.

Please join me in thanking those who, starting in July, hosted these open events across the state and the country.

• San Francisco, hosted by Keith Wetmore at Morrison Foerster; Walnut Creek, hosted by Casey Christensen '93 at Archer Norris;

• Palo Alto, hosted by Don Bradley '68 at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati;

• Los Angeles, hosted by Hector Espinoza '02 at K&L Gates;

• Los Angeles, hosted by Paul Salvaty '93 at O'Melveny & Myers;

• Santa Monica, hosted by Peter Nelson '79 at Nelson Davis;

• Piedmont, hosted by Rick Seabolt '75 at his home;

• Sacramento, hosted by Dan McVeigh '77 at Downey Brand;

• Marin, hosted by Basil Plastiras '75 at his home;

• San Francisco, hosted by Marcus Wu '97 at Hanson Bridgett, with the assistance of and Emi Gusukuma '97 and Associate Clinical Professor Eumi K. Lee;

• Seattle, hosted by Dennis Hightower '92 at Group Health Headquarters;

• San Francisco, at the ABA Annual Meeting;

• Costa Mesa, hosted by Bill O'Hare '78 at Snell & Wilmer;

• San Diego, hosted by Wain Fishburn '81 at Cooley;

• Bakersfield, hosted by Tom Fallgatter '73 at Klein DeNatale Goldner;

• Fresno, with an introduction by Alyson Berg '96;

• Chicago, hosted by Gary Green '88 at Clark Hill;

• Las Vegas, hosted by Michael Stein '92 at Snell & Wilmer;

• Honolulu, hosted by Bert Kobayashi '65 at Kobayashi Sugita & Goda;

• Monterey, California Bar Annual Meeting;

• San Francisco, special reception for "Super Lawyers," hosted by Jack McCowan '74 at Gordon & Rees;

• Burbank, hosted by Victor Cohen '97 at his home;

• Los Angeles, hosted by Kevin Brogan '79 for special guests;

• San Francisco, Community-Wide Event, with an introduction by the Honorable Willie L. Brown Jr. '58;

• New York City, Hastings Organization of Women, hosted by Gail Flesher '88 and Patricia O'Prey '96;

• New York City, hosted by Steven Fineman '88 at Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein;

• Portland, hosted by Bryan Powell '88 at Lane Powell;

• Washington, DC, hosted by Tim Mills '86 at Magg & McDermott;

• Los Angeles, Alumni Breakfast, with an introduction by John Nordin '69; and

• Atherton, hosted by Shannon Fallon '90 at her home.

Dozens of others hosted more intimate events for advisory groups, colleagues in the workplace, classmates, and select guests.

Additionally, I'd like to express my appreciation to the Alumni Center. Center staff members have worked diligently behind the scenes to put together our activities, all the while striving to increase private support for ongoing needs and planning for our first-ever comprehensive capital campaign.

The Alumni Center is preparing for the arrival of Amy Sollins on Nov. 29 as Senior Assistant Dean for Institutional Advancement. Dean Sollins was selected after a national search that involved our Board of Directors, the UC Hastings Foundation, faculty, administrators and staff. She will oversee the Alumni Center and the Office of Communications and Public Affairs. She brings to UC Hastings tremendous experience, having held key development positions at universities and non-profits, including UC Berkeley, CSU Hayward, the London Business School and the San Francisco Opera. Most recently, she served as Director of Development for the Friends of the San Francisco Public Library. If you would like to host a reception, whether in a city we've visited or someplace else (for example, Alaska, Phoenix, Boise, Salt Lake City, Santa Cruz or Shanghai), please contact Amy at sollinsa@uchastings.edu.

Finally, I'd also like to express my gratitude to my wife, Clinical Professor Carol Izumi. After more than 20 years on the faculty at another fine law school, she interviewed with the faculty here and was hired in her own right as an expert in mediation. She is part of the Center for Negotiation and Dispute Resolution, our nationally ranked program that offers students the opportunity for real-world training. Without her steadfast support, I would not be able to take on these responsibilities on your behalf.

As we gather with family and friends for the Thanksgiving holiday, those of us who trained in the legal profession have, I believe, many reasons to thank our teachers and mentors for giving us the skills to succeed as problem solvers and leaders. I know that I will take a moment to reflect on how all of the people associated with UC Hastings have been so welcoming and helpful.

Sincerely,

Frank H. Wu
Chancellor & Dean