Welcome (and for those of you returning, welcome back)!
Last year, Osgoode’s new Strategic Plan, “Experience Osgoode” was unanimously adopted by Faculty Council – http://digital.yorku.ca/i/59910. It represents a bold roadmap for the future. For students, the Plan highlights the importance of experiential learning, community engagement, accessible legal education and undertaking research which helps shape public debate.
A key aspect of Osgoode’s ambition is the move to an experiential curriculum. The JD Class of 2015 entering Osgoode this Fall will be the first under this new curriculum, which includes the new “praxicum” element that will expose students to law in action and a new research and writing component.
To support this new curriculum, this summer, we launched the Office of Experiential Education. The first of its kind in Canada, this Office will provide a centre of gravity for Osgoode’s diverse experiential programs. Kim Bonnar (’09) has returned to Osgoode to lead this Office, and also to take the lead in the Career Development Office. Kim is ideally suited to the task, having worked hard to establish Osgoode’s pioneering Mediation Intensive Clinical Program here as a student.
Experiential learning takes seriously the entire student experience, not just what happens in a classroom or clinic, or what gets graded and assessed. For this reason, Osgoode is also adding a first ever Student Success and Wellness Counsellor. Melanie Goela (’03) returns to Osgoode to provide students with her expertise, resources and support. We also have arranged with York University’s Counselling & Disability Services(CDS) enhanced access to mental health services for Osgoode students. Osgoode’s commitment to mental health extends far beyond the Law School, with collaborations involving the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), RISE Asset Development and the ARCH Disability Law Centre, among others.
In 2011, we moved into the wonderfully transformed Law School premises – the Ignat Kaneff Building. The renovated and new spaces have enhanced Osgoode’s community in a variety of ways –from the showcase ADR Centre, to the sun-drenched JCR, to the spacious, state-of-the-art Law Library. For this year, we are looking to integrate the building more fully into the research and teaching culture of the Law School – for example, turning white walls into canvasses for photography and exhibitions, using classrooms as performance space for theatre and concerts, etc. This aspiration also dovetails with the Law/Arts/Culture initiative at Osgoode, which includes a speaker series and blog (http://lawartscult.osgoode.yorku.ca/), with more to come.
While the new building and new initiatives continue to reshape the learning environment, Osgoode’s enduring strength continues to be our community, and the unparalleled dedication of our students, staff, faculty and alumni. This year we have a rich infusion of new blood in key roles, including Professor James Stribopoulos, our new Associate Dean, Professor Kate Sutherland, our new Associate Dean, First Year, Mya Bulwa who is now Assistant Dean, Students, and Phyllis Lepore Babcock, our new Executive Officer. We also will be joined this year by newly minted Professors Hengameh Saberi and Andrée Boiselle.
With so much that is new and changing about Osgoode, it is important not to lose sight of the importance of continuity. 2012 marks my 20th anniversary since graduating from Osgoode. The shift towards digital legal education was pure science fiction then (exams were still written by hand, and faculty did not yet have email addresses). While much has changed, the bonds that tie together the Osgoode community continue to resonate – especially the desire to see law as a journey to justice. Your years at Osgoode will be shaped by continuity and change. Ultimately, however, your law school experience will be what you make of it. I hope it provides for you the same wealth of opportunity, challenge, support and sense of purpose that is has provided and continues to provide for me.
For updates on my take on life at Osgoode, including an elaboration of some of the themes touched on here, please check out my blog at http://deansblog.osgoode.yorku.ca/ or follow my twitter feed @DeanSossin.