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.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
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