FAMU Law welcomes new faculty members

FAMU Interim President Larry Robinson addresses College of Law Entering Students during 2013 First-year Orientation week held August 5-8.

The FAMU College of Law bolstered its teaching corps with new additions for its fall 2013 course schedule.  Five new faculty members have joined the College of Law to teach during the 2013-14 academic year, along with several Orlando-area lawyers and jurists serving as adjunct instructors.

"We are excited to have our new faculty members join the FAMU College of Law family," said Dean LeRoy Pernell, who is entering his fifth full year at the helm.  "These new professors will further strengthen the quality academics offered at this prestigious institution."

The new faculty members include:

•    Joseph Grant, who most recently taught at Capital University Law School, joins the College of Law as an Associate Professor.  He received his J.D. from Duke University, and will teach Property Business Organizations;

•    Yolanda Jones, who most recently worked with Wayne State University Law School, joins the College of Law as Director of the Law Library and Associate Professor of Law. She received her law degree from the University of Michigan Law School, and her Ph.D. from Drexel University.  Her professional experience includes service in law libraries at Wayne State University, Villanova University, Indiana University and the University of Miami;

•    Dale Whitman, who serves as the James Campbell Missouri Endowed Professor Emeritus of Law at the University of Missouri, joins the College of Law as a Visiting Professor of Law.  He received his law degree from Duke University, and will teach Property and Real Estate Finance;

•    Lucille Ponte, who serves as Professor of Law at Florida Coastal University, joins the College of Law as a Visiting Professor of Law.  She will teach Contracts and Intellectual Property Law;

•    David Lacy, who formerly served as Associate Professor at Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law, joins the College of Law as a Visiting Associate Professor.  He will teach Constitutional Law and Employment Discrimination.

The new professors join a faculty that recently helped FAMU Law’s students achieve game-changing results on the Florida Bar Exam. FAMU Law’s first-time passage rate on the February 2013 bar exam exceeded the state average. At 82.6 percent, the FAMU Law beat the state average of 80.2 percent. That rate also topped the University of Florida’s (72.7 percent).