Thomas Wangard knew he wanted to
combine his love for aviation with his passion for the law when he considered
taking the law school plunge.
That is why it was an easy decision to
choose DePaul’s College of Law when he discovered its International Aviation
Law Institute (IALI).
“I realized studying with the
institute was the perfect route for me,” says Wangard, who is now a third-year
law student. “The institute has exposed me to substantive aviation law,
government policy and some of the individuals who were instrumental in enacting
both. I have had the great opportunity to learn directly from the aviation
industry’s titans.”
IALI is just a single example of the
College of Law’s investment in experiential learning and faculty enrichment
through clinics and institutes.
International aviation law students (from left) Thomas Wangard, Alex Bashinsky and Brian Khan listen as former Virginia Governor Gerald L. Baliles answers a question. Baliles chaired the 1993 Presidential Airline Commission and visited the College of Law to participate in the institute’s “Conversations with Aviation Leaders” oral history program.
The law school boasts 15 centers and
institutes focusing on a range of issues from criminal defense and family law to
intellectual property and cultural heritage law. Each has helped students
parlay classroom learning into hands-on experience, while offering faculty a forum
to spotlight their academic acumen.
Established in 2004 by distinguished
research professor of law and international aviation scholar Brian F. Havel,
IALI is the only international aviation law institute in the United States.
IALI quickly embraced its mission of educating the next generation of aviation
law and policy experts, and has become a valuable resource to help students gain
practical experience in international law. The institute also is a sought-after
source of information for academics and policymakers around the world, and has given faculty and students the
opportunity to consider cutting-edge aviation law issues as they come to the
fore.
“The institute allows students to put
their legal skills to work in real-life settings that enrich them beyond the
typical law school classroom experience,” says Steve Rudolph, executive
director.