^tettmt
Volume 8 No. I
STETSON LAWYER
November, 1964
College Enters Second Decade In St. Petersburg
Bar President Smith
Orientation Speaker
Stetson College of Law formally
opened for its 65th year of operation,
and its I Ith on the St. Petersburg
campus, September 16.
The beginning of classes was preceded by a two-day orientation period
for incoming freshmen, which came to a
close with an Inns of Court dinner at
which the Honorable Chesterfield H.
Smith, President of the Florida Bar was
the featured speaker.
New students were also privileged to
be addressed by the Honorable August
Paoli, Chairman of the Board of Bar
Examiners.
A Demanding Profession
Smith admonished His listeners that
the legal profession is the most demanding field of endeavor in modern
society. "For" he said, "the work of a
lawyer surrounds all activities which man
pursues everywhere."
Among the principal attributes a
lawyer must possess, Mr. Smith emphasized courage and integrity of character and "a sense of honor which contains no reservations, qualifications, or
conditions . . ."
The orientation program was arranged by co-chairmen Carl Kuttler of
St. Petersburg and Larry Rightmyer of
Reading, Pennsylvania, under the direction of Dr. William Casler, St. Petersburg, President of the Student Bar.
1956—A DREAM IN THE MAKING. Among prominent College of Law supporters who gathered
at ground breaking ceremonies for Charles A. Dana Library (completed 1958) are (left to right)
Baya W. Harrison, St. Petersburg Attorney and visiting professor; C. M. Blanc (deceased),
Mayor, St. Petersburg, 1926; Charles A. Dana; Charles A. Dana, Jr.; W. J. Clapp, President,
Florida Power Corporation; Douglas C. Findlay, Trustee of Dana Foundation; Walter Mann,
Trustee Dana Foundation and President, Board of Overseers, Stetson College of Law.
Forward Strides During First Ten Years Continue
Facilities Growing; Enrollment, Standards Up
The pictures on this page are symbolical of the many projects begun — and
completed — since the fall of 1954 when the former Rolyat Hotel, subsequently
Florida Military Academy, became the new home of Florida's first law school. In
ten years this beautiful, unique, but rambling structure totally unadapted to the
needs of a modern law school, has grown into a $1,500,000, debt-free, air-conditioned physical plant boasting a spacious library, artfully designed classrooms,
comfortable offices, a courtroom, guest
and faculty apartments, a huge study
lounge, a TV lounge, a cafeteria, a private swimming pool, and numerous
other added features of which even recent alumni are not aware.
Intrinsic Factors
These are the outward and visible
signs of growth. The most significant improvements and advances cannot be
caught by the camera's eye, or even
measured graphically. A faculty that has
doubled in size, ripened by experience
and matured in knowledge — a student
body that has increased in numbers
240%, representing every geographical area of this country — a freshman class of 107 students (total student body in 1954 was 94) carefully
selected from nearly 300 applications —
a scholarship program to attract top
students in college classes — a broadened curriculum enriched by seminars
and clinics that challenge the individual
student's capacity for self-improvement
(Continued on Page 7)
1954
1964
