When I am asked what I like best about our new building, without hesitation I reply, “It is student centered.” The design of the University of Cincinnati College of Law’s new home is one that puts students front and center, from top to bottom. After a years-long capital campaign and construction phase, we officially opened for study this August, culminating in a grand opening on September 13.
At the University of Cincinnati College of Law, we have always put students at the heart of our mission. With our new building, we are able to merge our physical location with our educational philosophy. Our new home is designed to maximize student engagement and collaboration, whether that be student-to-student, student-to-faculty, or student-to-legal community.
Traditionally, law school spaces were designed with educational strata at the forefront. Though it served us well over the years, our former home, constructed almost 100 years ago, followed this principle. Faculty and administrators resided in lofty locations unwelcoming to students. The faculty floor, the Dean’s suite, even the law library, were all designed so students, faculty, and administrators would know their proverbial place. Our new home does away with that design concept in favor of recognizing that every area of our building should be inviting and welcoming, fostering a spirit of interaction and collaboration.
The pinnacle of our building, the beautiful 6th floor, features sweeping views of Burnet Woods on one side and the whole of campus on the other. On each floor, students are welcomed participants. The Ohio Innocence Project shares the sixth floor with the Dean, alumni, and advancement teams. Thus, not only is one of UC Law’s jewels present on our academic crown, it also ensures students are always on our top floor, where they can interact regularly with both our internal team and with members of the community who visit our building.
This design flows throughout the rest of our 116,735 square foot building. Most of our faculty have offices on the 4th and 5th floors, but these floors also have spaces designed to maximize collaboration and interaction. Small seminar rooms are located on both floors, as well as library spaces, and one of UC Law’s newest legal clinics, the Legal Access Clinic. Thus, two floors that in the past would have been exclusive to faculty, where students would have only rarely trod, are now the frequent home of faculty, students, and, thanks to our clinic, members of the community. This continues to build our reality that the College of Law is a place of true collaboration.
The law library, traditionally separated by distinct walls from the rest of the school, is spread throughout our entire building, providing our students with different research and study options. Like our building, our law library is designed around student learning. While there remains the traditional quiet study room, we also have ten group study rooms, because we know students often study collaboratively. On the 5th floor, we also have our beautiful open study area. Here, students can study together or grab a coffee with a faculty member and continue the conversations begun in the classroom.
Knowing that we live in an increasingly digital world, our new home not only allows for physical collaboration and integration, but for virtual as well. Each classroom, seminar room, conference room, and group study room is equipped with the latest technology. Thus, faculty and students can engage our global community wherever they are. A faculty member can easily have a guest from Hong Kong, Chicago, or even downtown Cincinnati participate in their classes via online streaming. Likewise, students can virtually meet with their colleagues using the room’s technology capabilities, even if that colleague is unable to attend the group session in person.
UC Law’s rich history of educating talented individuals to be champions of justice, advocates for their clients, and leaders of their communities enters a new phase with our new building. Now our physical surroundings allow us to warp ahead in advancing our mission, placing students at the physical as well as philosophical center of all we do.
If you have not visited our new building, please come by. I would be pleased to give you a personal tour and show you why UC Law’s home is one the entire community can be proud of and benefit from.
Whiteman is the interim dean of the University of Cincinnati College of Law.