Transformative Years is Daniel Meador's account of his four years as dean of the School of Law at the University of Alabama from 1966 to 1970. Those were indeed transformative years, bridging the Law School of the past to the Law School of the future. Working on the premise that this institution was a crucial training ground for the state’s future legal and political leadership, the author, with the backing of university president Frank Rose, moved rapidly to build the school up in every respect—alumni involvement in fundraising, faculty, curriculum, library, and student life. All of these steps are described, along with the challenges presented by entrenched and limited expectations. The book describes the problems the author faced, in the context of their time and place, the steps taken to overcome them, and his dashed hopes in the ultimate denouement. The book concludes with a summary of what turned out to be lasting changes in the school as a result of those four years.
Transformative Years of the University of Alabama Law School will engage not just those devoted to Alabama Law School but also anyone interested in how to build a great law school.
—Taylor Reveley III, president, College of William & Mary
Only 105 pages long, this book is a must-read for anyone interested in the history of this law school and in understanding the foundation laid in the late 1960s for the great law school that exists in Tuscaloosa today.
—Robert L. Potts, The Alabama Lawyer
The entering class in 1966 sensed something special was happening within the walls of Farrah Hall. The important history of those next four years is superbly recorded by Dan Meador whose vision and special skills transformed the Law School and provided the foundation for future deans, faculty, and alumni to build a nationally recognized Law school at the University of Alabama. Readers will be rewarded because Dan Meador writes as well as he taught.
—Fournier Gale III, Seniro Executive Vice President & General Counsel, Regions Financial Corporation
Dan Meador’s book is historically valuable since it covers the progress made in the initial, turbulent years of reforming the Law School at Alabama to meet the demands of modern social life.
—Julian McDonnell, Professor Emeritus, Corporate and Business Law, University of Georgia
How difficult is it to move a good state law school towards being a good national law school? Dan Meador recounts the trials and triumphs he had after becoming dean at the University of Alabama in the mid-1960s. The reader will join me in amazement at Meador's dedication and constant hard work.
—Wythe Holt, University Research Professor of Law Emeritus, University of Alabama