Fellows of the South Dakota Bar Foundation

As the Class of 2022 was walking out the front door of the Law School, USD facilities personnel were walking in the back. Immediately after finals, we began pulling furniture from all our classrooms so we could begin their renovation this summer. Our classrooms haven’t seen significant change since the Law School opened in 1981. As a result, much of the seating is worn or broken, table tops are not conducive to more common computer use, and avocado green and iridescent orange just aren’t as cool as they once were. Working with USD, we will update the carpet, seating, desks, and AV for all our classrooms this summer. The great news is that the Class of 2025 will walk into fully updated classrooms. It is very exciting.

Even more exciting, this project is part of a more comprehensive renovation plan for the Law School. We have a great building with lots of space. Unfortunately, how we use a lot of that space has changed since the building opened. We need to rethink and restructure some of it as a result. Additionally, as any homeowner knows, maintenance and repair projects eventually build up to the point that a comprehensive renovation is necessary. Just over forty years into its life, and with no updates in that time, we are at that point within the Law School.

We have spent the last academic year developing a comprehensive renovation plan. USD Facilities Management and a commercial architect have facilitated development of this plan. That has provided a few fresh and professional sets of eyes to reassess our space. It has included input from faculty, staff, and students. In addition to just updating our space, a goal of this project is to improve its functionality. We have worked with our architect to make our space flexible so that the law school can continue to adapt to changing needs and uses in years to come. One thing we know is that we do not know exactly what comes next; making space flexible wherever we can is vital. That allows us to adjust our uses to respond to changes both planned and unexpected.

The lower level will remain focused on student study space and library collection. Installing collapsible shelving will reduce the library footprint by about 50%. That reclaimed space can then be assigned to student study carrels or tables. That will free up space on upper levels for other uses. We will move the current mother’s room onto the main floor, freeing the small room near the courtroom for trial team storage.

On the main floor, the library entry will be dramatically retooled. The library will be enclosed closer to the entry of the State Bar Room. The circulation desk will be reoriented to make more efficient use of the space. A current office will be repurposed to be an enclosed space for copiers and printers to facilitate student access while controlling noise transfer. The current South Dakota Law Review office, near our loading dock doors, will be converted to library receiving and storage to be closer to the in/out location of book deliveries.

Upstairs, the faculty suite will be refreshed more than renovated. In discussing larger renovation plans, faculty made clear that their current space meets their needs well. It could use updating, however. Carpet and furnishings will be updated throughout. The bathrooms

will be updated for accessibility. Part of the faculty lounge will be enclosed for additional offices and a small galley kitchen will be left for grab and go coffee and other items.

The other side of the building will be completely overhauled. The goal is to get more efficient use of the current upper level library and dean’s suite areas. The offices in the dean’s suite will largely slide “back” in the direction of the rest of campus. The current dean’s conference room will be reoriented and enlarged to accommodate meetings of the full faculty and other larger groups. Career services and admissions will move towards the front to provide ready access for visitors. Academic offices will move further back for student confidentiality.

On the other side of a secure dividing wall, existing offices will be retooled to become flexible student meeting space. Law review will come home to its original office on the upper level. Most significantly, a new classroom will be added in the center of this space. It will be about the size of Classroom 103. That will allow better scheduling for upper class electives and sectioned 1L classes.

In addition to this physical renovation, I have worked with budget stuff on a cyclical replacement plan for furnishings. Much of our furniture was original and had no set replacement date. As a result, a lot of the furniture became in need of replacement at one time. We have developed a staggered plan for replacement so that we can reserve a set budget amount annually and be regularly replacing some furniture based on life span to avoid having everything be old at once. Going forward, we have a plan for each piece of furniture and space in the building to repair or replace it in and efficient and affordable way.

Maintenance and repair of facilities may not be exciting, but it is necessary. Having a functional space for students, faculty, staff, and guests is important. It is hard to learn or teach without good facilities. I am excited to see these updates to our building to make it the best space if can be. We are the State’s law school, so it is also a vital work of stewardship.

We will be posting pictures as these projects progress so please watch the social media feeds for me and the Law School for updates. Even better, come home and see for yourself! We’d love to show you around.