University of Iowa College of Law

The University of Iowa College of Law
Established1865
School typePublic
DeanTodd Pettys
LocationIowa City, Iowa, U.S.
Enrollment491 (2024)
Faculty47 full-time (2025)
USNWR ranking32nd (tie) (2026)
Websitewww.law.uiowa.edu

The University of Iowa College of Law is the law school of the University of Iowa, located in Iowa City, Iowa. It was founded in 1865 by two Iowa Supreme Court justices.

History

Co-founder Justice Chester C. Cole

The law school was founded in 1865 by George Grover Wright and Chester C. Cole as an independent law school in the state capital of Des Moines as Iowa School of Law, but it moved to Iowa City and became part of the University of Iowa in 1868. It is the oldest law school west of the Mississippi River. Iowa's College of Law is said to have graduated the first female law student in the nation, Mary Beth Hickey, in 1873. The second woman to graduate from Iowa Law was Mary Humphrey Haddok in 1875, who later became the first woman admitted to practice before the U.S. District and Circuit Courts. Alexander G. Clark, Jr. was the first African American to graduate from the law school, and his father Alexander G. Clark was the second. The senior Clark was ambassador to Liberia in 1890–1891.

Co-founder Justice George Grover Wright

When the Law Building was built in 1986, the project included a low-rise library, classrooms, auditoriums, moot courts, and administrative facilities. The architect was Gunnar Birkets & Associates and the structural engineer was Leslie E. Robertson Associates. The law library has the second-largest collection of volumes and volume-equivalents and the second or third largest number of unique individual cataloged volume and volume-equivalent titles among all law school libraries. It contains more than one million volumes and volume equivalents and is one of the largest and finest collections of print, microform, and electronic legal materials in the United States.

For more than 30 yrs, the law school has sponsored "Bridging the Gap," a minority pre-law conference held at the law school. It participates in, and supports, CLEO and PLSI.

The Boyd Law Building is located in the center of the campus on a bluff overlooking the Iowa River.

Law journals

The Law School has four academic journals, including the Iowa Law Review, founded in 1915 as the Iowa Law Bulletin. It is a scholarly legal journal, analyzing developments in the law and suggesting future paths for the law to follow. The Iowa Law Review ranks high among the top "high impact" legal periodicals in the country, and its subscribers include legal practitioners and law libraries throughout the world.

Employment

According to the Iowa College of Law's official 2019 ABA-required disclosures, 89.3% of the Class of 2019 obtained full-time, long-term, JD-required employment within nine months after graduation. Iowa's Law School Transparency under-employment score is 5.7%, indicating the percentage of the Class of 2019 unemployed, pursuing an additional degree, or working in a non-professional, short-term, or part-time job nine months after graduation.

Costs

The total tuition and mandatory fees for the 2024–2025 academic year are $32,512 for Iowa residents and $53,759 for non-resident students.

Notable alumni

Notable faculty

List of deans

Source:

References

  1. ↑ "ABA Standard 509 Report - Iowa (2024)" (PDF).
  2. ↑ "Meet Our Faculty".
  3. ↑ "University of Iowa". U.S. News & World Report – Best Law Schools. Retrieved 2026-04-07.
  4. ↑ "Drake Law or Iowa Law - which is the "oldest law school west of the Mississippi"? — Geoff Wood". geoffreyhwood.com. Archived from the original on 2015-04-02.
  5. ↑ "Law School History and Milestones | College of Law - the University of Iowa".
  6. ↑ "Law School History and Milestones | College of Law - the University of Iowa".
  7. ↑ "Law Library - The University of Iowa College of Law". Archived from the original on 2013-05-30. Retrieved 2007-10-17.
  8. ↑ http://www.law.uiowa.edu/library/introduction.php Archived 2011-01-02 at the Wayback Machine, Law Library, University of Iowa
  9. ↑ "Pre-Law Programs - Prospective Students - the University of Iowa College of Law - College of Law - the University of Iowa". Archived from the original on 2011-01-20. Retrieved 2011-02-04.
  10. ↑ Washington and Lee University School of Law, Law Journals: Submissions and Rankings, https://managementtools4.wlu.edu/LawJournals/
  11. ↑ "2019 ABA Placement Summary" (PDF).
  12. ↑ "University of Iowa Profile".
  13. ↑ "Costs and Financial Aid for Current Students".
  14. ↑ "James H. Andreasen". admissions.uiowa.edu/. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
  15. ↑ "Bruce Braley". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
  16. ↑ "Celeste Bremer".
  17. ↑ "UNITED STATES SENATE COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY Burrows SJQ" (PDF).
  18. ↑ "James H. Carter". admissions.uiowa.edu/. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
  19. ↑ "Alexander Clark". The University of Iowa. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
  20. ↑ "Ill Few Days in Adel Home; Had 2 Terms". The Des Moines Register. 1936-11-29. p. 17. Retrieved 2024-11-03 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  21. ↑ "Norm Coleman". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
  22. ↑ "Lester J. Dickinson". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
  23. ↑ "Rita B. Garman" (PDF). Illinois Supreme Court. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
  24. ↑ "William Cook Hanson". Federal Judicial Center. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
  25. ↑ "Paul P. Harris". Rotary International. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
  26. ↑ "Bourke B. Hickenlooper". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
  27. ↑ "Leo A. Hoegh". State Library of Iowa and State Historical Society of Iowa. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
  28. ↑ "Brian H. Hook". 2001-2009.state.gov/. 8 July 2008. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
  29. ↑ Keck, Rachelle Karstens (2022). "CV" (PDF). Grand View University. Retrieved 2023-12-24.
  30. ↑ "William S. Kenyon". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
  31. ↑ Nile Kinnick
  32. ↑ "Keith A. Kreiman". Iowa Legislative Services Agency. Retrieved 19 August 2018.
  33. ↑ "Donald P. Lay". Federal Judicial Center. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
  34. ↑ "Ronald E. Longstaff". Federal Judicial Center. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
  35. ↑ "Thomas E. Martin". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
  36. ↑ "Edward J. McManus". Federal Judicial Center. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
  37. ↑ "Michael J. Melloy". Federal Judicial Center. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
  38. ↑ "Ronald Moon". Star Advertiser. 19 September 2010. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  39. ↑ "Tom Riley". .legis.iowa.gov. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
  40. ↑ Rynard, Pat (2015-09-29). "Rising Star Profile: Rob Sand". Iowa Starting Line. Retrieved 2022-08-19.
  41. ↑ "Duke Slater". Pro-Football Reference.com. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
  42. ↑ "Daniel F. Steck". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
  43. ↑ "Roy L. Stephenson". Federal Judicial Center. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
  44. ↑ "William C. Stuart". Federal Judicial Center. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
  45. ↑ "Philip W. Tone". Federal Judicial Center. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
  46. ↑ "Harold Vietor". Federal Judicial Center. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
  47. ↑ "George A. Wilson". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
  48. ↑ "Wolle, Charles Robert". Federal Judicial Center. Retrieved December 19, 2022.
  49. ↑ "Justice Dana Oxley". Iowa Judicial Branch. October 30, 2024.
  50. ↑ "Justice Christopher McDonald". Iowa Judicial Branch. October 30, 2024.
  51. ↑ "The Official Site of the Minnesota Vikings". www.vikings.com. Retrieved 2024-10-30.
  52. ↑ "All rise, judicial clerkship success at Iowa Law". University of Iowa College of Law. Iowa City, Iowa: University of Iowa. April 20, 2021. Retrieved February 12, 2026.
  53. ↑ Breaux, Richard M. "'Maintaining a Home for Girls': The Iowa Federation of Colored Women's Clubs at the University of Iowa, 1919–1950", in Franklin, V.P., ed. (2004). Cultural Capital and Black Education: African American Communities and the Funding of Black Schooling, 1865 to the Present. Greenwich, CN: Information Age Publishing. p. 130. ISBN 1-59311-040-5. "The various African American women who lived in the Federation House in the early years blazed many trails as University of Iowa students. For example, in 1924, Beulah Wheeler became the first African American woman to graduate from the College of Law. Wheeler, a Marshalltown resident who lived at the Federation Home as a student, helped pay for her education by selling handmade art. She was one of many Arican American women who attended meetings of the IFCWC to express her appreciation for their continued support. During her senior year, Wheeler played on the clas basketball and volleyball teams, where she was one of 'the chief score makers for the seniors.' [...] In 1921, Wheeler won the Women's Extemporaneous Speech Contest with a speech entitled 'Uniform Marriage and Divorce Law.'"
  54. ↑ "Law School History and Milestones: Deans". University of Iowa College of Law. Retrieved September 6, 2024.