OK State higher education regents approved a “School of Rock” degree program Thursday for the University of Central Oklahoma. Now only if Jack Black taught there…

The purpose of the program is to foster relationships between law students and legal professionals, offering a realistic view of legal practice apart from the academic experience in the classroom. It will also expand law students’ networking opportunities in the legal community in which they intend to practice. Additionally, the program will aid the College of Law to remain connected to its alumni, while also gaining new support from legal professionals who did not graduate from the College of Law.

The TU College of Law Mentoring Program will be administered through the TU Law Office of Career Services, the office of TU Law Alumni Relations and the TU Law Alumni Mentoring Committee. Vicki Jordan and Jennifer Flexner with the law school’s career services office will work with law students wishing to participate. Muriel Hakim, assistant to the dean for law alumni relations, will coordinate with legal professionals participating as mentors. The mentoring committee, chaired by Briana Ross and Caroline Abbott, will monitor the progress of the program, recruit additional mentors as needed and report to the College of Law Alumni Board on a monthly basis.

The program is actively recruiting lawyers to serve as mentors.

Students and lawyers who want to participate in the program will submit applications to be used for matching purposes. Matches will be based on practice area, practice setting or the student’s geographic area of interest. Matches also may be made based upon students’ status as either full- or part-time.

A kick-off celebration for the mentoring program is planned as part of the law school’s homecoming festivities. The celebration will be held at 5:30 p.m., Thursday, October 2, at John Rogers Hall. Light refreshments will be served as those involved with the program will have the chance to meet at the mezzanine.

Anyone interested in serving as a mentor may contact Muriel Hakim at (918) 631-3320 or muriel-hakim@utulsa.edu. Applications are available online at: http://www.law.utulsa.edu/alumni/mentoring-program/

ABOUT THE TU COLLEGE OF LAW

The TU College of Law provides an academically rigorous, yet congenial atmosphere with opportunities for scholarship, leadership and faculty mentoring. Students develop practical skills through participation with student-driven legal journals, award-winning moot court teams, two on-campus clinics and a new pro bono program. Joint interdisciplinary degrees include a JD/MBA and JD/MTAX and unique specialties include energy and environmental law and Native American law. The Mabee Legal Information Center is recognized as one of the nation’s top university law libraries. The TU College of Law is one of the four colleges of The University of Tulsa, which is ranked among U.S. News and World Report’s Top 100 universities. To find out more, visit: www.law.utulsa.edu.

Whitney R. Maudlin, who graduated from The University of Tulsa College of Law in May 2008, was awarded first place in the 2008 American Bar Association Tort Trial and Insurance Law Student Writing Competition.

Mauldin will receive $1,500 and an all-expenses paid trip to the ABA Annual Meeting in New York City in August. Her paper “Good Business/Bad Faith: Why the Insurance Industry Should Adopt a Good Faith Model” was selected as the winning entry and is being reviewed for possible publication in the ABA Tort Trial & Insurance Law Journal.

The paper was the result of an independent study Mauldin completed while in law school as an independent study supervised by Vicki Limas, associate dean and Tom Arnold, professor of law. She said winning this competition at the culmination of law school is a testament to the legal education she received at TU.

“I had amazing writing professors in law school who really cultivated and fine tuned my ability to write critically,” Mauldin said. “I also received great support from my supervising professors and was able to network with professionals in the insurance industry through our alumni association.”

Mauldin, a graduate of Bartlesville High School, has accepted a position with the Tulsa County District Attorney’s office, where she also interned during law school.

ABOUT THE TU COLLEGE OF LAW

The TU College of Law provides an academically rigorous, yet congenial atmosphere with opportunities for scholarship, leadership and faculty mentoring. Students develop practical skills through participation with student-driven legal journals, award-winning moot court teams, two on-campus clinics and a new pro bono program. Joint interdisciplinary degrees include a JD/MBA and JD/MTAX and unique specialties include energy and environmental law and Native American law. The Mabee Legal Information Center is recognized as one of the nation’s top university law libraries. The TU College of Law is one of the four colleges of The University of Tulsa, which is ranked among U.S. News and World Report’s Top 100 Universities. To find out more visit: www.law.utulsa.edu.