The Wayne State University Law School will celebrate the opening of its recently expanded and renovated facility including the new 250-seat Spencer M. Partrich Auditorium. The new facility and the school's outstanding faculty, broad curriculum and student body will secure Wayne State's position as one of the nation's finest, urban, public law schools.

"The Law School's new building is a beautiful gateway to the Wayne State University campus," said Wayne State University President Irvin D. Reid. "This new facility helps solidify Wayne State University's Law School as the center of legal education and public service in Michigan."

The Spencer M. Partrich Auditorium is the prime feature of the new facility, equipped for appellate and trial court hearings, lectures, symposia and moot court sessions. Both the Michigan Supreme Court and the Michigan Court of Appeals have held sessions in the auditorium since it opened last October.

"The new auditorium is not only a beautiful addition to the Law School -- the court sessions, symposia and seminars it provides will make it a dynamic center of learning," said Spencer Partrich. "I am pleased that I was able to assist Wayne State to build a facility that is consistent with the high-caliber education I received at the Law School."

The new Law School building also features a multi-media, distance-learning classroom, seminar rooms, student organization offices, student services offices, gathering spaces for students and alumni, and additional faculty offices. The renovation of the existing building increased the floor space of the Arthur Neef Law Library, which houses one of the nation's largest academic law collections, by 50 percent. Technological capabilities of the law school and the library were greatly expanded.

"I am extremely pleased that the Wayne State University Law School now has a building that has the space and technological equipment to meet the 21st century requirements necessary to provide the high-level education and public service we are known for," said Law School Dean Joan Mahoney.

Wayne State University alumnus Spencer M. Partrich contributed $2.5 million to the Law School's Campaign for the 21st Century, including support for the new uditorium. The Campaign for the 21st Century is a capital campaign which in addition to funding the expansion and renovation of the physical plant will increase the Law School's endowment. The Law School's Capital Campaign has raised more than $15 million toward its total goal of $16.5 million.

For more information on the new Law School building or Campaign for the 21st Century, call James Robb, assistant dean, WSU Law School, at (313) 577-4834.