大峡谷大学宣布新设基督教法学院，凤凰城律师詹姆斯·威廉姆斯任首任院长
凤凰城消息：亚利桑那州私立基督教大学大峡谷大学（Grand Canyon University）10月8日宣布，任命凤凰城资深律师詹姆斯·L·威廉姆斯（James L. Williams）为新设法学院的首任院长，他将主导这所融合严格法学训练与基督教世界观的新学院的筹建工作。据大峡谷大学官方新闻稿与《基督日报国际版》（Christian Daily International）报道。
据报道，威廉姆斯在亚利桑那州执业已18年，现为凤凰城施密特·施内克·伊文·威廉姆斯律师事务所（Schmitt Schneck Even & Williams）的合伙人；他长期担任基督教法律人协会（Christian Legal Society）凤凰城分会会长并在董事会任职十年，毕业于德克萨斯州贝勒大学法学院，业余还担任凤凰城新城市教会的长老与敬拜带领，并在亚利桑那州立大学桑德拉·戴·奥康纳法学院担任过模拟法庭教练。
大峡谷大学校长布赖恩·穆勒（Brian Mueller）在公告中说："我们不只是再建一所法学院。我们有机会重新思考，当学术卓越、基督教世界观原则与自由市场理念与强烈的使命感结合时，法学教育可以是什么样子。我们要培养追求真理与正义、以正直服务他人、并深知其社会影响力所伴随的重大责任的律师。"
威廉姆斯表示，从零开始建设一所法学院，可以让学校审慎地决定要培养什么样的律师："大峡谷大学的学生将在学术上接受挑战、在职业上做好准备，并被鼓励深入思考工作的意义以及他们服务他人的责任。我确信，这是上帝在大峡谷大学里已经动工的事，祂必忠心地完成。"他希望法学院毕业生进入法庭、企业、政府与社区，成为"有勇气、谦卑、正直和信心的人"。
据报道，大峡谷大学早在8月下旬就首次公布了法学院建设计划，当时已进入首任院长最终面试阶段。这将是该校的第12个学院，目标最早2027年秋季迎来首批学生。不过在招生前，法学院仍需获得多项批准：负责亚利桑那州律师准入的亚利桑那州最高法院、美国区域认证机构高等教育委员会（Higher Learning Commission），以及亚利桑那州私立高等教育委员会。之后还将申请美国律师协会（ABA）认证——据公告，这是一道独立程序，预计需要数年。若获亚利桑那州法院授权，符合要求的毕业生可申请州律师资格；若再获ABA认证，大峡谷大学将成为亚利桑那州继亚利桑那州立大学和亚利桑那大学之后的第三所ABA认证法学院。
大峡谷大学创办于1949年，现获高等教育委员会认证，在校内与在线共开设约400个学术项目、方向与证书课程。
据大峡谷大学官方新闻稿、《基督日报国际版》报道。
Grand Canyon University to Launch Christian Law School, Names Phoenix Attorney James L. Williams Inaugural Dean
PHOENIX — Grand Canyon University (GCU), a private Christian university in Phoenix, Arizona, announced Oct. 8 that it has named Phoenix attorney James L. Williams the inaugural dean of its new College of Law, who will lead the development of a law school combining rigorous legal education with a distinctly Christian worldview, according to the university's official press release and Christian Daily International.
Williams has practiced law in Arizona for 18 years and is a shareholder at the Phoenix firm Schmitt Schneck Even & Williams. He is president of the Phoenix chapter of the Christian Legal Society, an association of Christian lawyers and law students, and has served on the chapter's board for a decade. He is a graduate of the Baylor University School of Law in Texas, serves as an elder and worship leader at New City Church in Phoenix, and has coached students in the mock trial program at Arizona State University's Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law, according to reports.
"We are not simply building another law school," GCU President Brian Mueller said in the announcement. "We have an opportunity to rethink what legal education can look like when academic excellence, Christian worldview principles and free market thinking are joined with a strong sense of purpose. We want to develop attorneys who pursue truth and justice, serve others with integrity and understand the tremendous responsibility that comes with the influence they will have in their communities."
Williams said building the school from its beginnings would allow GCU to decide deliberately what kind of lawyers it wants to produce. "GCU students will be challenged academically, prepared professionally and encouraged to think deeply about the purpose of their work and the responsibility they have to serve others," he said. "I am confident this is a work God has begun in and through GCU, and that He will be faithful to complete it." He said he hoped the school would send graduates into courts, businesses, government and communities as "men and women of courage, humility, integrity and faith."
GCU first announced plans for the College of Law in late August, when it said it was in final interviews for a founding dean. The school could admit its first students as early as fall 2027 but still needs approval from state and accrediting bodies before it can open, becoming the university's 12th college. GCU is seeking authorization from the Supreme Court of Arizona, which oversees admission to practice law in the state, as well as from the Higher Learning Commission, a U.S. regional accreditor, and the Arizona Board for Private Postsecondary Education. After that, the university plans to apply for accreditation from the American Bar Association, the main accrediting body for U.S. law schools — a separate process expected to take several years. If the Arizona court grants authorization, graduates who meet its requirements could apply for admission to the state bar; with ABA accreditation, GCU would become Arizona's third accredited law school, joining Arizona State University and the University of Arizona.
Founded in 1949, GCU is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and offers about 400 academic programs, emphases and certificates in person and online, according to the university.
According to Grand Canyon University's official press release and Christian Daily International.
图片来源：维基共享资源，CC BY 3.0（davidpinter 摄，大峡谷大学凤凰城校区教学楼）
