Southwestern Law School history

Southwestern received a university charter in 1913 after it expanded to include a number of other disciplines including a business school.

By 1915, the college had expanded to include several other disciplines (commerce, accounting, and finance), received a university charter, and moved to a larger location on Spring Street.

More than 100 students were enrolled by 1920, and three years later, the school began construction on the South Hill Street campus, which served as the primary site for the next five decades.

During this early period, an active student body established several publications, fraternities and sororities, a debate squad (that captured the 1927 Southern California Public Speaking Conference championship), several athletic teams, and the Southwestern Alumni Association.

Its campus includes the Bullocks Wilshire building, an art deco National Register of Historic Places landmark built in 1929.

1965 – First building, Vocational Building (now Founders Hall) completed.

1968 – College begins classes on Jan.

Also, the SCC Foundation, Inc., incorporated in 1973, strives to provide support for needs not covered by public funds or grant monies.

Established in 1974, Southwestern founded the first two-year J.D. course of study offered at an American Bar Association-approved law school.

1976 – Southwestern's Cherokee Center established and Job Placement Office established at Jackson campus.

1979 – Southwestern's Cherokee Center built at Boys Club Complex.

1987 – STC Macon County Center opens.

1989 – In April, College opened Child Care Center in Oaks Hall.

1990 – SCC Regional Fire and Rescue Training Center opened, later becoming the Public Safety Training Center.

1991 - SCC names Barry W. Russell as its third president.

In 1994, Southwestern acquired the adjacent Bullocks Wilshire building, a historic landmark which was subsequently renovated to house the school's law library, classrooms, faculty offices, and court room and advocacy center.

Founded in 1995 by Doctor Barry Russell, then-SCC President, and Doctor Charles McConnell, former Jackson County Superintendent, New Century Scholars provides the promise of last-dollar tuition assistance and support to middle-school students throughout SCC’s service area.

2000 – College receives $10.4 million from state bond referendum funds.

In 2006, Southwestern was awarded a federal grant to train Mexican lawyers and law faculty in advocacy skills as part of a USAID effort to assist Mexican legal reform.

In 2007, Southwestern introduced its new first-year curriculum based on doctrinal legal theory foundation with a focus on legal research, writing, interviewing and advocacy skills to bridge the gap from theory to practice.

On October 3, 2008, the Southwestern Journal of International Law hosted one of the first United States conferences on Arctic sovereignty, featuring legal scholars from both the United States and Canada.

Beginning in Fall 2010, Southwestern will offer an online option for its Entertainment and Media Law LL.M.

Southwestern placed 121st in the 2011 United States News and World Report "Best Law Schools" rankings.

They will compete for a national title in Austin, Texas, starting on March 23, 2012.

As of fall semester 2013, Southwestern opened student housing known as The Residences at 7th.

A design by Elizabeth Hammer was selected in April to serve as SCC’s official 50th anniversary logo throughout the 2014-15 academic year.

A $1.4 million grant from NASA in October pushed SCC’s grant award total for 2015-16 to more than $3.5 million.

In 2018, SCC secured more than $2 million from the United States Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration to assist with construction of the new Health Sciences Center construction.

Paul Wolf, founding coordinator of SCC’s Outdoor Leadership and Wilderness Therapy programs, received the Rebecca L. Carver ABC’s Award at the 2019 Southeast Regional Conference of the Association for Experiential Education.

1 nationally in its list of "The Best Community College & Trade Schools of 2020." More about our recent rankings is listed in the year-by-year history below.