We like to say Shirley and Wayne Wiegand build a house in our neighborhood because of us. She was a law professor in Milwaukee at Marquette University and husband Wayne was a professor in the office next to Lulu's. For years they had a nation crossing weekend marriage. After a visit with us one night - Shirley told Wayne that if he got her a house in our neighborhood - she would retire and come to live here permanently. During the next week - Wayne signed a contract to build a house just down the street. Shirley kept her promise - retired and moved in.
After a very short "retirement" - Shirley was not ready for just cooking - laundry - and shopping - although she is very good at those skills. With Florida A & M campus less than a mile away - the professor had a few miles left on the odometer. FAMU needed "a few top professors" to move their law school to full accreditation. It would be a daunting task because the it had not been fully accredited since it reopened seven years ago. That is the good news - the bad news is that the law school is in Orlando - 250 miles away. Shirley once more would be "on the road again."
This time Shirley would be driving her Mini Cooper convertible on the I-10 and I-75 route - "eastbound and down" to Orlando. Wayne took a leave from FSU to do research and keep the home fires burning in their apartment in Winter Park. Once again - Shirley's week would be filled with all that fancy legalese - not only in the classroom - but she volunteered to the task of writing the accreditation report.
There are perks to having friends with a spare apartment near Disneyworld. We spent quite a few nights there enjoying their company and hospitality.
Fast forward to yesterday. Wayne and Shirley are out in California visiting the grandkids and this story is the headline of today's Tallahassee Democrat. I doubt if Wayne will ever get her to retire now.
FAMU's Orlando-based law school now fully accredited
By Angeline J. Taylor
DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER
ORLANDO — It's been more than 40 years since Florida A&M University has had a fully accredited College of Law.
But Friday, Florida A&M President James Ammons was joined by College of Law Dean LeRoy Pernell to announce that the Orlando-based law school was once again fully accredited, following a Thursday night vote by the American Bar Association.
FAMU officials took a bus Friday to Orlando for a news conference to make the announcement. About 100 people, including trustees, staffers and students, attended, and the news prompted applause and hugs.
"This is historic, and this is the kind of milestone that anchors our efforts," Ammons said. "I'm just blessed to be a part of this group of highly talented individuals. It takes a lot of talent to do what we were able to do."
The law school has been in operation in Orlando for seven years. The ABA granted provisional status after it opened. However, as recently as May 2008, it looked as if the program wouldn't be fully accredited. A scathing ABA report focused on "dysfunction and dissension" among the faculty.
Pernell said that since that time, there have been many new faculty hires and other changes.
"This journey has not been one without perils," he said. "There were naysayers. There were obstacles. We kept driving towards our goal."
Law school student Verhonda Williams, 26, asked Pernell what's next for the law school now that it's fully accredited.
Pernell responded by saying, "I am not promising you law school will get easier. There will be more work, more challenges — but more opportunities."
Williams said she didn't mind the hard work. She came to the news conference with her two daughters wearing a "destination accreditation" T-shirt to show her support of the law school.
"FAMU is a family," she said. "On your acceptance letter it says welcome to the family. I'm ecstatic about the news."
Former FAMU President Frederick Humphries was among those attending the news conference.
"It has never happened in the South where an institution that was taken away during a period of desegregation got re-established in a different time," he said.
U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown recalled when the law school was taken away.
"Indeed, this is a victory that the school, its professors and student body deserve," she said. "I remember the humiliation and anger we felt as FAMU students when, in 1965, the Florida legislature voted to close the law school and move it to Florida State University. Today, after all these years, the law school is not only up and running but is officially accredited."
Gov. Charlie Crist congratulated FAMU in a written statement.
"Their commitment to academic excellence is helping prepare future attorneys from Florida and around the globe to meet the legal needs of their communities," he said.
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