Seattle’s Legal Education Begins: Board Votes to Establish Law Department
In a decisive move at the University of Washington, regents approve the creation of a law school, marking a pivotal step in the institution's academic maturity.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
SEATTLE, May 8. At a meeting of the Board of Regents and Alumni Association of the University, Friday afternoon in the chamber of regents, the decision was made that a law department shall be established at once for the University of Washington. This practically settles the question of organizing such a department.
The action follows the conclusion that there were sufficient funds on hand for its establishment if the Board of Regents proved the plan necessary. The meeting was largely attended by some every prominent citizen of the city.
On its final part, the motion was carried with only one dissenting vote—that of J. T. Gilman and his bureau—on record as being in favor of the law department, but he was not sure whether it was intended to be established at the present time and took no part of it.
Just before the meeting adjourned, a call for instructors who would be willing to assist by occasional lectures to aid in the organization was made, and more than half of the attendees volunteered.
The matter will now be taken up by the board of regents at their next quarterly meeting next Wednesday. The action will in all probability be to instruct President [Name Illegible] to take steps toward the establishment of such a law school for next year.
This 1904 decision laid the groundwork for what would become the University of Washington School of Law, now one of the top public law schools in the country. It highlights how early 20th-century civic leaders viewed higher education not just as a luxury, but as essential infrastructure for a growing city's professional class—a precursor to today's debates over funding public universities and access to legal services.
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