Congratulations, Class of 2019! Here is a look back at other commencement ceremonies.
Issa Tanimura
Issa Tanimura is believed to be Dickinson Law’s first international student. Tanimura was born on May 1, 1866 in Hagi, Japan. He attended school in Tokyo before leaving Japan for the United States, where he attended the Centenary Collegiate Institute in Hackettstown, New Jersey.
In 1887, Tanimura met the Rev. Dr. George E. Reed, who would become President of Dickinson College. It was this meeting that led to Tanimura’s decision to devote his life to promoting Japanese-American relations. Tanimura went on to attend Yale, before making the decision to attend Dickinson Law, likely having been influenced to do so as a result of his meeting with Reed.
Tanimura was secretary of his class during his senior year at Dickinson Law. While attending Dickinson Law, Tanimura also organized a Japanese-themed carnival to raise funds for the Law Library. The carnival was a huge success, expanding the Law Library’s collection to over 800 volumes. The new additions to the Law Library were inscribed, and considered to be a part of the “Japanese Memorial Law Library.”
Tanimura graduated from Dickinson Law in 1892 and received his Certificate to Practice Law in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. However, it appears that he never actually practiced law. Instead, Tanimura returned to Japan, where he was appointed Commissioner of Commerce in 1893. Tanimura continued, during his lifetime, to travel throughout the United States and Europe. He also continued his lifelong goal of promoting Japanese-American relations, by unofficially serving as a resource, in Japan, of information regarding the American people.
At some point, Tanimura developed an interest in agriculture, specifically sheep husbandry. He attended a Sheep Fair in 1908 in Ogden, New York, where he met the president of the Wool Association, who had first introduced sheep to Japan. At this gentleman’s recommendation, Tanimura went on to become an Honorary Fellow in Agriculture at Cornell University. The first sheep ranch opened in Japan in 1917. By 1919, there were five ranches in existence. However, due to a lack of interest on the part of the Japanese government, all but one sheep ranch was ultimately closed. Nonetheless, Tanimura remained an authority on the topic of sheep husbandry, both in Japan and abroad. Tanimura also successfully introduced Jersey cows and American grasses to Japan.
Tanimura was a successful author as well, co-authoring and editing many works. Tanimura is probably best known for authoring General Horace Capron, The Friend of Japan, comprising of his research on the life of General Horace Capron, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, who introduced many modern farming practices to Japan.
Issa Tanimura passed away on February 4, 1961. He was 94 years old.
Another Look at Students Studying Over the Years
At the end of the Fall semester, I shared photos of students studying over the years. Here are more photos of students studying to help inspire and motivate you during the Spring final exam period.
Lewis Katz Hall Dedication
A groundbreaking ceremony was held on January 23, 2008 for what would be an extensive makeover of the Law School.[1] The prior additions to Trickett Hall were demolished along with the Curtilage. Trickett Hall was renovated, and a new addition was constructed. This addition was named Lewis Katz Hall, in honor of Lewis Katz, a philanthropist, businessman and alum, who donated $15 million dollars to the Law School.
During construction, classes were held at a temporary location in Carlisle. On December 21, 2009, faculty and staff were able to return to Trickett Hall and the newly-built Lewis Katz Hall. Students resumed classes in the new space on January 11, 2010. Lewis Katz Hall was dedicated in a ceremony held on April 16, 2010. Lewis Katz tragically passed away in a plane crash on May 31, 2014.
[1] Meanwhile, ground had broken on January 18, 2007 for the construction of a law school building at University Park. While that building was under construction, students attended classes elsewhere on the University Park campus. Classes resumed in the new building on January 9, 2009. This building, which houses Penn State Law, is also named after Lewis Katz.
Kegs in the Curtilage
Alumni have many fond memories of the Friday evening keg in the courtyard of the Curtilage. The keg offered a way for students to unwind after a long week of studying and attending classes. The keg was a tradition for many, many years, and it was so popular that it was even celebrated with a cake and its own commemorative mug!
Alfred Nevin: The Law School’s First Student
Alfred Nevin was the first student to enroll in Judge John Reed’s Law School when it opened on April 1, 1834. Nevin was born in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania on March 14, 1816. He graduated from Jefferson College in 1834 before enrolling in the Law School. Nevin graduated from the Law School and was admitted to the Bar in 1837, but instead of practicing law, he chose to enter the Western Theological Seminary. After graduating from the Seminary, he became an ordained Presbyterian minister. In addition to his work in the ministry, Nevin was an accomplished author. He wrote several books and papers during his lifetime, most of which were devoted to religious topics. He was also the editor of the Encyclopedia of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America. Nevin passed away on September 2, 1890.
April 1, 1834
On this day, one hundred and eighty-five years ago, Judge John Reed opened the Law School.
The Curtilage
The need for a dormitory for law students had been recognized for some time – as early as 1898, in fact. However, the situation was not adequately addressed until 1946, when Dean Walter Harrison Hitchler informed the Board of Trustees of the Law School that he was having difficulty locating suitable housing for students. On March 1, 1946, the Board of Trustees authorized the formation of a committee to explore raising funds for the construction of a dormitory. The committee submitted its report at a special meeting of the Trustees on February 1, 1947, indicating that the project could be undertaken. Thereafter, a campaign began to raise funds from alumni for the project.
In 1949, architects Walter Karcher and Livingston Smith, from Philadelphia, were hired to design the dormitory, which would occupy an empty tract of land next to the Law School that was purchased in 1932. The plans for the dormitory called for the construction of five interconnected buildings. One building was to house an apartment for Dean Hitchler. Construction of the dormitory began on February 11, 1951.
The entire dormitory complex was named the Sadler Curtilage, in honor of the late Honorable Wilbur F. Sadler, former president of the Board of Trustees and one of the Law School’s Incorporators. Within the complex, the main building was named after Dean Hitchler, and the remaining four buildings were each named after Dr. C. Scott Althouse of the Board of Trustees and former faculty members Joseph McKeehan, A.J. White Hutton, and the Honorable Fred S. Reese. The dormitory was dedicated in a ceremony on June 7, 1952 with Governor John S. Fine, Class of 1914, delivering the dedication address.
The Sadler Curtilage was renovated in 1988, thanks to a gift from Dr. Jacob Levinson, Class of 1928. As a result of this renovation, the Sadler Curtilage was renamed the Levinson Curtilage. The Levinson Curtilage was dedicated in a ceremony in June, 1989.
The Curtilage was demolished in 2008 as part of the Trickett Hall renovation and construction of Lewis Katz Hall.
Woolsack Honor Society
The Woolsack Honor Society at The Dickinson School of Law was founded due to the efforts of J. Kennard Weaver, Class of 1920. In a letter dated March 10, 1923, Weaver described the formation of the Society:
I first learned of the Woolsack Honorary Society at a National Convention of my Fraternity held at Kansas City, Mo, during Christmas week of 1919. During this Convention, my room-mate at the Hotel in Kansas City was from Cornell University Law School,1 and in exchanging gossip, regarding the two schools, Cornell and Dickinson, I asked him about a certain student who I knew was up there, and he spoke pretty highly of him and said he had made the Woolsack Senior Society, and when I asked him what the society was, he gave me the details and was very much surprised to learn that Dickinson had no senior honorary society to which a man be elected because of attaining certain scholastic requirements, being recommended by the Faculty. When I was at Pennsylvania University taking the Preliminary law course, I had known they had a senior honorary society to which a man worked during his first and second years in order to qualify. I felt at that time Dickinson should have such a society so that the men in the lower classes would have something to work toward.
I might say at this time the Woolsack is the sack of wool which has been used from time immemorial as the seat of the Lord Chancellor of England, and so represents the highest point of attainment in his profession for an Attorney in England, and it is for that reason that the members are called Chancellors.
Membership in the Woolsack is a reward of the finest scholastic work…
J. Kennard Weaver, Letter to Peter Jurchak, March 10, 1923.
For unknown reasons, the Woolsack Honor Society became dormant in the late 1930’s. However, it was revived with the Class of 1981, and membership was awarded retroactively to prior classes. Membership in the Woolsack Honor Society is based on academic performance and recognizes senior class members who have earned a spot within the top 15% of their class.
1 A letter dated April 20, 1978 from Cornell Law School indicates that the author was not able to find any evidence of a Woolsack Honor Society ever having been at Cornell Law School.
The Honorable Sylvia H. Rambo
The Honorable Sylvia H. Rambo attended Carlisle High School, where she graduated first in her class. She then earned her B.A. degree, cum laude, from Dickinson College. In 1959, Judge Rambo entered The Dickinson School of Law as the only woman in her class. She graduated from the Law School in 1962.
Judge Rambo briefly worked as an attorney in the Trust Department of the Bank of Delaware before returning to Carlisle to enter private practice. In 1973, she was appointed Assistant Public Defender for Cumberland County. In 1976, she was appointed Chief Public Defender. She was the first woman appointed to that position. In 1976, Judge Rambo became the first female judge in Cumberland County when she was appointed to fill a vacancy on the Cumberland County Court of Common Pleas. She ran for reelection in 1978 when her appointed term was scheduled to expire, but she lost the election and returned to private practice.
In 1979, Judge Rambo was appointed to fill a newly-created seat on the bench for the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. She was the first woman to serve in that capacity. From 1992 to 1999, Judge Rambo accomplished yet another first, when she served as the first female Chief Judge for that Court. Judge Rambo attained senior status on the Court in 2001. This year marks Judge Rambo’s 40th year on the bench.
In 1993, the Women’s Law Caucus of The Dickinson School of Law established The Honorable Sylvia H. Rambo Award. The Award was established to honor, annually, a woman in the legal profession that “has had a distinguished career and who, by example, has made the professional success of other women more likely.” Judge Rambo was the first recipient of the Award, and it was named in her honor because of her substantial and positive impact on the community. The 2019 recipient of the Award is The Honorable Mary Hannah Leavitt, Class of 1978, President Judge of the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania. A list of prior recipients is available here.
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