Throwback Thursday: Go Texan Memorial Edition

by Heather Kushnerick, Special Collections Librarian & College Archivist

The Dons of South Texas: From the left, Professor Musselman, unidentified staff (?) member, Dean Bill Wilks, and Dean Sandra DeGraw, March, 1994.

Tomorrow, Friday, February 27, is Go Texan Day here in Houston. It's the day when 13 groups of trail riders converge on the city and head to Memorial Park to make camp. These groups have spent days and weeks traveling along cattle trails using the traditional equipment of the Old West. Their arrival in Houston signals the start of the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo. For those of us who didn’t go on a trail ride, we celebrate with Go Texan Day - a one day event where everyone in Houston is encouraged to break out their boots and take pride in our Texas and Western heritage.

In years past the South Texas Student Bar Association sponsored a chili cook-off to coincide with the rodeo. In March 1994, at the first annual chili cook-off, the “Dons of South Texas” took first place in the competition.  This Throwback Thursday post is bittersweet; it is dedicated to Dean Bill Wilks who passed away this past Tuesday, February 24.  Dean Wilks was a dedicated administrator, professor, and friend. His humor, quick wit, and ready smile will be dearly missed.

Collection Spotlight - President's Day Edition

by Barbara Szalkowski, Senior Catalog Librarian

Now Appearing in the Library!

The Library has a wide selection of works

on the Presidents of the United States --

their powers, their policies, and

their individual stories.

The Collection includes the official public papers

of each President, in hardcopy and online,

as well as a wealth of monographic works

on various aspects of the Presidency.

You can find collective presidential biographies

in E 176.1 (Main 3); individual biographies

in other areas of E by chronology/period;

United States politics and government in JK (Main 3);

Constitutional law and the President in KF5050-5082 (Main 4);

and by searching STELLA or STELLAplus+ for these

or other topics or for specific titles.

Collection Spotlight - Bar Exam Edition

by Barbara Szalkowski, Senior Catalog Librarian

Now Appearing in the Library!

This week, students in states across the country

are sitting down to take their state bar exams.

In most states, these exams are held the

last week in February and the last week in July.

The Library collection has a variety of resources

to help students prepare for the bar exam,

including books like these. We also have past bar

exams for all states on microfiche;

a link to the Texas bar exam archive in the

Student Study Aid channel, on the Library tab

in STANLEY; and some recent bar

course preparation materials on Reserve.

Throwback Thursday: President's Day Edition

By Heather Kushnerick, Special Collections Librarian & College Archivist

President George Bush, November 14, 2001.

When the Fred Parks Law Library was officially opened and dedicated on November 14, 2001, the keynote speaker was a long-time friend of Parks – President George H. W. Bush. In his speech President Bush said, “[i]t’s often been said that America is a nation of laws, not men, which charges so many right here in this audience with the awesome, sacred responsibility to be vigilant, and diligent, in the way you practice and  exert the law.” Using Parks as an example, he went on to say that the successful life must include service to others that people “need to get off the sidelines and roll up their sleeves and give something back." President Bush continued:

At the beginning of the 20^th century, Theodore Roosevelt was the bold and energetic leader who represented a new generation of patriots that answered the call to greatness. Roosevelt understood that accepting the mantle of greatness also meant shouldering the burdens of responsibility. … A century later, as we stand at the threshold of a new century, and a new era in mankind’s history, the names and the faces have changed, but the challenge remains the same. We need a new generation to answer the call to greatness – a new band of patriots to give meaning to the words, “duty, honor, country.”

President Bush concluded by saying that throughout his life Fred Parks answered when duty – and decency – called, and that “this library, which will serve so many for so long, is the perfect tribute.”

Collection Spotlight - In Recognition of Black History Month

by Barbara Szalkowski, Senior Catalog Librarian

Now Appearing in the Library!

Thurgood Marshall was the first African American justice

on the United States Supreme Court, and served

on the Court from October 1967 to October 1991.

The Library has many works on the contributions

of African Americans in the areas of law,

civil rights, criminal justice, history, and

education, just to name a few.

Use keywords "African Americans" in your

search of STELLA or STELLAplus+

to locate these resources.

Throwback Thursday: Dealer's choice

By Heather Kushnerick, Special Collections Librarian & College Archivist

Pearson Ford, 1220 Polk Avenue, circa 1949.

South Texas College of Law moved to our current location in February, 1964. The building had previously housed Pearson Ford. We originally leased the first floor, sharing the building with an insurance company and a drapery firm. South Texas later purchased the building and over the next few decades remodeled and expanded it to our current physical plant. The fact remains, however, that according to this picture, our student lounge used to be the dealership's showroom.

Collection Spotlight - Houston Welcomes the ABA!

by Barbara Szalkowski, Senior Catalog Librarian

Now Appearing in the Library!

The American Bar Association's Midyear Meeting is

here in Houston, February 4-10, 2015.

In addition to a variety of books published by

the American Bar Association, the Library

also has the Annual report of the ABA

in print and via HeinOnline.

Reports from this 2015 midyear meeting

will eventually be issued and part of this set.