Successful Spring Week Brings Together UC Law SF Alumni
For the second year in a row, UC Law San Francisco alumni came together for Spring Week – a weeklong celebration held in April that included cheering on the SF Giants at Oracle Park and an evening reception at San Francisco City Hall.
Spring Week is an annual celebration put on by the UC Law SF Alumni Association to recognize reunion celebrators and all alumni with events and activities at the law school and in the City of San Francisco.
The festivities kicked off on Wednesday, April 12, at Oracle Park, where over 200 alumni and supporters of UC Law SF gathered to watch the SF Giants take on the LA Dodgers. The evening started with beverages and ballpark food in the stadium’s Triples Alley VIP area, where guests watched batting practice under sunny skies before moving to the bleachers to watch the game. The law school was recognized on the leader board during the second inning.
Chancellor and Dean David Faigman updated alumni during a virtual Town Hall on Thursday. He talked about the construction of new campus buildings and growing partnerships with other academic institutions, including UC Davis and UC San Francisco. “We are not only building buildings, but we’re really expanding what we do as an educational institution,” Faigman said. “Buildings are part of that, and partnerships are part of that. But the core of our mission is being a great law school.”
April 13 also marked the law school’s second annual Giving Day. Alumni joined UC Law SF community members and supporters in raising more than $40,000 for vital academic programs, including scholarships, student organizations, and public-interest fellowships for law students and recent graduates.
Visiting alumni donned hardhats on Friday as they took a guided tour of the law school’s newest building, The Academe at 198, a new 14-story high-rise going up at 198 McAllister St. They previewed under-construction classrooms, housing units, a student commons, gym, and auditorium. The new building will have 656 apartments for Bay Area graduate students and will open this summer. The tour ended on the Sky Deck of the Cotchett Law Center with a picturesque view of blue skies beaming over City Hall.
Jenna Kelleher ’13 said she enjoyed coming back to campus, touring new academic buildings, and catching up with fellow alumni. “It’s a great opportunity to reconnect with classmates, to have time to bond and catch up in a meaningful way.”
Also on Friday, the UC Law SF Center for Negotiation and Dispute Resolution (CNDR) marked its 20-year anniversary with a special event for alumni, tracing the history of the innovative program. Professors and students shared reflections on past successes and future hopes for CNDR, while alumni shared tips for developing a successful arbitration or mediation practice.
Walking in to the sounds of a chamber orchestra, UC Law SF alumni attended an elegant all-alumni reunion party in the stately rotunda of San Francisco City Hall on Friday evening. The catered event included passed champagne and gourmet food stations, while outside, the light display on the iconic Beaux-Arts building was lit up in the law school’s colors of blue and gold, as well as inside the rotunda. Chief Development Officer Eric Dumbleton introduced Faigman, who gave an update on events at the law school and toasted to those in attendance.
Wrapping up the week, alumni celebrating milestone reunion years met on a sunny Saturday morning for a Reunion Jazz Brunch on the Quad. They sipped mimosas and ate brunch bites while enjoying good company and the sounds of a live jazz band.
“This year’s Spring Week was a massive success,” said Meredith Jaggard, executive director of the UC Law SF Alumni Association. “It was a fantastic week of celebrating our alumni and the law school. We love putting on these wonderful events that allow alumni to come together, have fun, and feel connected to our vibrant law school community.”