Page 85 - Cityview Magazine - July/August 2017

Arguably the finest lawyer in Location and History J. Duncan, Jr. School of Law. The
In 1897, General Oliver O. Howard founded Lincoln Memorial University. Honoring the vision of our 16th President, General Howard established the school on a beautiful tract of land adjacent to Cumberland Gap National Park. This setting provided a scenic backdrop for Howard’s progressive vision of educating people across the Appalachian region.
The main campus was once the site of a lavish Four Seasons resort, which included a hospital, inn, and sanitarium. A sagging economy forced the Four Seasons to close. Later, a group formed by General Howard purchased the
our nation’s history, Abraham
Lincoln recognized the importance of the law, its utility to the American way of life, and the necessity of legal education. Lincoln Memorial University Duncan School of Law fulfills Lincoln’s vision, providing an opportunity for quality legal education to students with diverse backgrounds, spanning Appalachia and the Southeast. Like Lincoln, LMU Law emphasizes leadership, work ethic, and access to justice.
After three years of law school, we realized that the only limitation on our success comes from within. Too often, geography, expense, or self- doubt halts students from pursuing their goals. The LMU faculty dispel this notion early on. From orientation to graduation, they emphasize how students can achieve success through diligence, preparation, and resolve.
As with LMU’s main campus in Harrogate, Tennessee, a close-knit community has developed on the Law School’s downtown Knoxville campus. On day one, students become part
of an organization that both honors its heritage and provides support for every aspect of the law school experience. The administration, faculty, and staff devote countless hours to maintaining this unique environment.
As the school continues to grow, these efforts allow it to deliver on its mission and provide legal education to students from underserved regions. Lincoln, who believed in the power
of legal education, the need for
public service, and access to justice for everyone, was a self-described “country lawyer.” Vice President and law school Dean Gary Wade fits that same description and shares that same vision. Under his leadership, along with that of the Board of Trustees, LMU has expanded opportunities for legal education for students across
the region—whether they come from urban communities or the most rural corners of Appalachia.
university realized that a school honoring Abraham Lincoln was not complete without the addition of a law school. To give students access
to hands-on, practical training, the University leased Knoxville’s old city hall building on the corner of Summit Hill Drive and Henley Street.
The old city hall building has quite a history of its own. The original structure, constructed in the 1840s, served as the Tennessee School for the Deaf until it was commandeered during the Civil War to be used as a hospital. From around 1925 until 1980, Knoxville used the building as its city
“Let reverence for the laws be breathed by every American ... Let it be taught in schools, in seminaries, and in colleges
... Let it be preached from the pulpit, proclaimed in legislative halls and enforced in courts of justice ... And, in short, let
it become the religion of a nation...”
Harrogate, Tennessee property, where the school’s campus now encompasses 1,000 acres.
Over the last 120 years, LMU has been steadfast in developing Lincoln’s vision. Our alumni are improving
life in our communities by providing leadership, teaching children, and developing economic opportunities that enhance the entire region. Moreover, graduate programs now include the LMU-DeBusk School of Osteopathic Medicine, the LMU- College of Veterinary Medicine, and the Duncan School of Law.
In 2009, LMU founded the John
—Abraham Lincoln
hall. Since 1980, various other groups occupied the building before it was leased in 2008.
Lincoln Memorial University established the law school in the face of the most severe economic downturn since the Great Depression. The school’s early leadership was forced
to navigate some troubled waters in a rapidly changing legal market. With the same fierce determination and work ethic that LMU Law instills in its students, the law school persevered, expanded, and now boasts one of the best values in legal education in the nation. And we are just getting started.
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