The University of Toledo College of Law’s Legal Institute of the Great Lakes released a new report assessing the progress each of the eight Great Lakes states has made in implementing the terms of the 2008 interstate compact that ushered in a new era of water management and conservation in the Great Lakes region.

While the overall assessment is positive, the report identifies critical areas for improvement within each state.

Ken Kilbert, UToledo professor of law and director of the Legal Institute of the Great Lakes, is the principal author of the white paper titled “An Assessment of the Great Lakes States’ Implementation of the Water Management and Conservation Provisions of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact.” The report provides a state-by-state assessment of how Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin are carrying out the water management, conservation and efficiency provisions of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact.

Forrest Miller, a third-year UToledo law student, and Aubrey Merkle, a second-year UToledo law student, are co-authors of the white paper. This project afforded them the opportunity to enhance their substantive knowledge of water law and related fields, as well as their legal research, writing and analytical skills.

The report is particularly timely. This December, each state is required to report on its implementation of water management, conservation and efficiency programs under the compact. The states’ reports are subject to review by the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Council, which will determine whether state programs meet compact provisions and will make recommendations to those that do not.

“The compact not only banned most new diversions of water outside the Great Lakes basin, it also required the states to undertake stronger programs for management and conservation of waters within the basin,” Kilbert said. “In order to fulfill the promise of the compact, it is essential that the states carry out their obligations to implement its terms.”

The Legal Institute of the Great Lakes is a multidisciplinary research center within the College of Law. The research project was funded by a grant from the Joyce Foundation.

Kilbert joined UToledo College of Law faculty in 2006. He teaches environmental law, natural resources law, administrative law, civil procedure and water law. As director of the institute, Kilbert organizes the annual Great Lakes Water Conference, which this year is scheduled for Friday, Nov. 8.

Toledo’s innovative Lake Erie Bill of Rights will take center stage with a family of “forever chemicals” during the 19th annual Great Lakes Water Conference at The University of Toledo College of Law.

Approved by voters in February and challenged by a lawsuit in federal court, the new “rights of nature” ordinance that allows citizens to sue on behalf of the lake to address pollution has attracted national and international attention.

The conference, which is sponsored by the College of Law and its Legal Institute of the Great Lakes, will take place Friday, Nov. 8, from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Law Center McQuade Auditorium.

“Three panels of experts will be tackling issues of local, regional, national and international import,” said Ken Kilbert, UToledo professor of law and director of the Legal Institute of the Great Lakes. “Law and policy are key to the solutions.”

The keynote speaker will be Carrie Sowden, archaeological director of the National Museum of the Great Lakes. She will talk at 8:45 a.m.

The first panel, which will debate the city of Toledo’s Lake Erie Bill of Rights, will start at 9:15 a.m. Kilbert will serve as moderator with speakers Jason Hill, court administrator for the Ohio Sixth District Court of Appeals, who teaches election law; Terry Lodge, a Toledo attorney who specializes in environmental and energy issues and supports the ordinance; and Louis Tosi, attorney with Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick in Toledo, who serves as chair of the firm’s Environmental Practice Group.

The other two panels will explore water quality problems posed by PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) chemicals, a proposed rule affecting the reach of the federal Clean Water Act, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s the new H2Ohio initiative, and a proposed new diversion of Great Lakes water.

The one-day conference is free and open to the public. Registration is $75 for attorneys seeking 4.5 hours of Ohio Continuing Legal Education credit.

For more information about the conference and to register for credit or box lunch, visit the College of Law website.

The number of graduates from The University of Toledo College of Law who passed the July bar exam in Ohio on the first try is well above the state average.

It’s also UToledo’s highest result for first-time takers on the summer exam in a decade.

The newly released data shows the first-time passage rate for UToledo law graduates taking the bar exam is 89%, up from 84% in July 2018. The state average in Ohio this year is 82%.

“I am very proud of our graduates for their success on the bar exam,” said College of Law Dean D. Benjamin Barros. “We have done a lot of work at the College of Law over the past several years to help our graduates succeed on the bar exam. At the end of the day, though, it is the graduates who do the hard work needed to pass the exam, and this result is the payoff for their efforts.”

The UToledo College of Law is committed to preparing students for a successful career with programming and partnerships dedicated to bar passage.

In the last few years, the college aligned its curriculum to bar-tested subjects, developed a first-year support program, expanded its third-year bar prep course, and implemented a legal analysis course and academic success contracts.

The UToledo College of Law also created the position of director of academic success and bar preparation, designed to prepare both third-year students and graduates for the bar exam. Through post-graduation mentoring, every law graduate is paired with a faculty mentor to provide support during bar exam study.

Plus, the UToledo College of Law partnered with Barbri, a company headquartered in Texas, to offer students access to its comprehensive bar review course with flexible classroom, online and mobile learning environments.

Looking to advance your career? Want to learn more about continuing your education? Stop by the Graduate and Professional Program Fair Wednesday, Oct. 30.

The event will take place from 2 to 6 p.m. in the Thompson Student Union Auditorium.

Attendees can meet with representatives from colleges and programs; learn ways to fund graduate education; and start the graduate program application process.

On hand will be representatives from all UToledo colleges: Arts and Letters; Business and Innovation; Engineering; Health and Human Services; Judith Herb College of Education; Law; Medicine and Life Sciences; Natural Sciences and Mathematics; Nursing; Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences; Graduate Studies; Jesup Scott Honors College; and University College.

Go to the Graduate and Professional Program Fair website and register.

The first 100 to attend the event will receive an application fee waiver; J.D., M.D. and Pharm.D. applications not included.

For more information, email graduateinquiry@utoledo.edu.

UToledo’s third annual Day of Giving will take place Tuesday and Wednesday, Oct. 15 and 16.

The 36-hour campaign, “Rocket Forward: You Launch Lives,” will begin at midnight Oct. 15 and end at noon Oct. 16.

Several events are planned Tuesday, Oct. 15:

Day of Giving Fall Festival — 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Centennial Mall

• Student organizations will host booths with games.

• The Rocket Marching Band and UToledo cheerleaders will perform.

• President Sharon L. Gaber will greet students from noon to 12:30 p.m.

• The festival also will offer a dog-petting station, corn hole games, a basketball contest, pie in the face, pumpkin bowling and pumpkin golf.

College of Business and Innovation — 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Savage & Associates Business Complex Second-Floor Atrium

• Giving station with ice cream.

Judith Herb College of Education — 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Gillham Hall

• Giving station with popcorn.

College of Health and Human Services — 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and Wednesday, Oct. 16, 8 to 10:30 a.m. in the Health and Human Services Building Atrium

• Giving station with popcorn, other snacks and prizes.

Jesup Scott Honors College — 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. outside MacKinnon Hall

• Giving station with snacks.

College of Law — 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the Law Center Patio

• Fall Fest hosted by the Student Bar Association: Donate to decorate mini-pumpkins; play corn hole, ring toss and horseshoes; and eat kettle corn, caramel apples and cider.

Student Recreation Center — 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

• Giving station; popcorn from 2 to 6 p.m.

University College — 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Wednesday, Oct. 16, 9 to 10:30 a.m. in Rocket Hall

• Giving station with popcorn, snacks, and a chance to spin the wheel to win prizes with a donation.

The University of Toledo Medical Center — starting at 9 a.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, Oct. 15 and 16, in the Four Seasons Bistro

• Giving station in the cafeteria.

Colleges of Nursing; Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences; and Medicine and Life Sciences — 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Collier Building Lobby

• College of Nursing will host a Day of Giving party with a giving station, snacks, a pumpkin decorating contest, music and entertainment. President Sharon L. Gaber and Health Science Campus deans will be on hand for Day of Giving selfie photos with students, faculty and staff.

Give online at rocketforward.utoledo.edu Oct. 15-16 and share your UToledo story on social media at #RocketForward.

“Fighting Back: A Legal Framework for Defeating the Opioid Crisis” is the title of The University of Toledo Law Review’s annual symposium, which will take place Friday, Oct. 11.

The free, public event will begin at 8 a.m. in the Law Center McQuade Auditorium.

Despite the decrease in opioid deaths in Ohio during the last year, experts predict death from opioids will continue to rise in the next decade.

The symposium will feature scholars and practitioners from across the region who will analyze the past efforts made toward defeating the opioid crisis. The event will foster discussions focused on these realizations and address the legal implications from a variety of perspectives: the criminal justice response, implications on public policy, regulating the medical field, and unintended consequences of the crisis.

This symposium will be of particular interest to attorneys in the practice of family law, criminal litigation and civil disputes; individuals employed with state and federal agencies; as well as those working to combat the crisis as healthcare providers and administrators. Individuals affected by this crisis also would benefit from attending.

Presenters’ scholarly contributions will appear in volume 51, issue 3, of The University of Toledo Law Review.

This symposium has been approved by the Supreme Court of Ohio Commission on Continuing Legal Education for 6.25 total Continuing Legal Education (CLE) hours, which includes 1.5 professional conduct hours.

If you do not need CLE credit and do not wish to have lunch, the event is free and registration is not required.

If you intend to seek CLE credit and/or would like a box lunch, registration is required by Tuesday, Oct. 8

For more information about the conference and to register for CLE and/or lunch, visit the College of Law website.

Kimberly Norwood, Henry H. Oberschelp Professor of Law at Washington University School of Law in St. Louis, will present the annual Cannon Lecture titled “Ferguson Five Years Later: A Look at the Legal and Social Reverberations in Ferguson and Around the Nation.”

She will speak at The University of Toledo College of Law Thursday, Sept. 26, at noon in the Law Center McQuade Auditorium.

In August 2014, events in small-town Ferguson, Mo., sparked international debate on the struggle for equal justice and equal treatment.

In 2016, Norwood published “Ferguson’s Fault Lines: The Race Quake That Rocked a Nation.” In the book, she used Ferguson as the foundation for a study on how various laws, social conditions, and economic and political policies may negatively impact the lives of black and brown people in America — contributing to racial and socioeconomic conflict.

Now five years later, Norwood will examine the institutional, systemic and cultural structures that resulted in racially disparate treatment in Ferguson.

Norwood’s research focuses on colorism, implicit bias, and the intersection of race, class and public education in America. She is a commissioner on the American Bar Association’s Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Profession, a commissioner on the Missouri Supreme Court Commission on Racial and Ethnic Fairness, and a member of the Monitoring Team for the U.S. v. Ferguson Consent Decree.

She is the first black woman in Washington University’s history to receive tenure. She recently was named the 2019 Woman of the Year by the Missouri Lawyers Media. Norwood is a graduate of Fordham University and received her law degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia.

“We are honored to host a scholar and advocate of Professor Norwood’s stature,” said Geoffrey Rapp, associate dean for academic affairs and Harold A. Anderson Professor of Law and Values at the UToledo College of Law. “Her insights into the limitations of the legal system for addressing persistent racial discrimination have had a profound impact on how we think about lasting and difficult questions.”

This free, public event is part of the Cannon Lecture Series that was established in 1980 to honor former Toledo attorney Joseph A. Cannon. The series hosts nationally known individuals who explore both the humanistic dimensions and limitations of the legal system.

Food and beverages will be provided. Livestream will be available through the UToledo Alumni Association.

For more information, visit the UToledo College of Law website.

A local attorney and dentist have been appointed to The University of Toledo Board of Trustees.

Richard S. Walinski, a lawyer who practices in the areas of contract, corporate and commercial litigation, was named by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine to a full nine-year term ending July 1, 2028. He replaces Sharon Speyer, who concluded her term in June.

Dr. Eleanore Awadalla, who leads Awadalla Dental, has been appointed to a term ending July 1, 2022. She will complete the remaining years of the term of Steve Cavanaugh, who resigned in June upon beginning his new role as ProMedica’s chief financial officer.

“We look forward to welcoming Mr. Walinski and Dr. Awadalla to the Board of Trustees,” UToledo President Sharon L. Gaber said. “As well-respected professionals in our community, they know firsthand the value The University of Toledo brings to our city and our region. We look forward to working with them as we continue our positive momentum.”

Walinski’s family has practiced continuously in the Toledo area for more than a century. He served as chief counsel to two of Ohio’s attorneys general, as chairman of the Ohio Supreme Court’s Rules Advisory Committee, and as a member of the Ohio Constitution Modernization Commission.

Walinski received a law degree from UToledo, and he was the founding editor-in-chief of The University of Toledo Law Review. He also holds a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from UToledo.

Awadalla has 40 years of experience providing general, restorative and cosmetic dental services.

A graduate of Ohio State University’s College of Dentistry, Awadalla is a member of the American Dental Association, the Ohio Dental Association, the Toledo Dental Society, the Academy of General Dentistry, and the American Association of Dental Examiners.

Ilya Somin, professor of law at George Mason University, will discuss the importance of free movement within and beyond the United States as part of The University of Toledo College of Law’s Stranahan Lecture series.

His lecture, “Free to Move: Foot Voting and Political Freedom,” will be delivered Thursday, Sept. 12, at noon in the Law Center McQuade Auditorium.

Most Americans think of ballot box voting as the essence of political freedom. However, Somin will explain how we can best empower ordinary people by expanding opportunities for them to “vote with their feet,” whether it be in the private sector, between jurisdictions in a federal system, or even by moving to a new nation. He believes liberty and happiness can be enhanced by limiting and decentralizing political power, and by reducing barriers to both domestic and international migration.

“This is a timely lecture on immigration, federalism and other related topics like sanctuary cities,” said Lee J. Strang, John W. Stoepler Professor of Law and Values at the College of Law. “Professor Somin will argue that ‘foot voting’ is an underappreciated yet crucially important mechanism to preserve and promote individual liberty.”

A prolific scholar, Somin is the author of a number of books, including “Democracy and Political Ignorance: Why Smaller Government Is Smarter” (Stanford University Press, revised edition, 2016), as well as dozens of scholarly articles and essays in a variety of popular press outlets, including The Washington Post, Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. He has been quoted or interviewed in Time, CBS, MSNBC and NPR, among other media.

Somin is a graduate of Amherst College, Harvard University and Yale Law School.

This free, public lecture is a part of the Stranahan National Issues Forum and is sponsored by the College of Law and its chapter of the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies.

Book sales and signing will take place before and after the lecture. Food and drink will be provided.

For more information, visit the College of Law Stranahan Lecture Series website.

Sierra Leone, president and artistic director of Oral Funk Poetry Productions, will visit The University of Toledo to kick off 1619-2019: The Legacy of Black People in America Series.

“Voices of the People” is the title of the first program in the series.

Leone, a writer and leader of an urban poetry movement in Dayton, Ohio, will speak Thursday, Aug. 29, at the event, which will run from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the Thompson Student Union Steps on Centennial Mall. If the weather doesn’t cooperate, the program will be moved inside the Thompson Student Union.

“This series of events over this next year is to commemorate the totality of the horrific and majestic experience of black people in America from 1619 to 2019,” Ben Davis, professor of law and co-chair of the 1619 Committee, said. “We are also planning other events — Health and the People, Art and the People, Slavery and the People, Faith and the People, Law and the People — and a writing contest are in the works to hopefully have a series of learning moments for our University community over the course of the school year.”

“The purpose of this first program is to have members of the community honor and commemorate the lives and experiences of African Americans — living, dead, famous, infamous, from any field of endeavor — through spoken word, quotes, sayings, poems and readings,” said Angela Siner, director of the Africana Studies Program and co-chair of the 1619 Committee.

“We want these programs to inspire and engage through the words and stories that spotlight African Americans’ contributions to U.S. culture during the past 400 years,” Davis said.

Both agree Leone is the perfect person to open the series.

Leone received the 2018 Ohio Governor’s Award in the community development and participation category. The honor was presented by the Ohio Arts Council and Ohio Citizens for the Arts Foundation and recognized the educator and entrepreneur for creating and strengthening interactive arts participation among diverse community members while increasing awareness about the arts.

More than a decade ago, Leone and her husband, Robert Owens Sr., founded Oral Funk Poetry Productions; the creative urban arts initiative has brought together communities across racial, cultural, ideological and economic divides.

She told the Dayton Daily News she was influenced by growing up in a large family with a grandmother who believed life is better when shared: “In community, we can be more creative, more impactful, reach more people in diverse audiences.”

Her project, The Signature: A Poetic Medley Show, presents a fusion of urban poetry, music, dance and visual arts from local, regional and international talent. The quarterly show expanded to include a competition, The Last Poet Standing.

Through Signature Educational Solutions in Dayton, Leone works with schools, youth art organizations and community groups. A big focus is on girls’ and women’s empowerment.

The wordsmith has written and performed commissioned works for many organizations, and she was the featured artist at the 2017 National Breaking Silences Conference, where she shared a poem about her journey with dyslexia.

Leone was known as Lucy Armstrong when she received a bachelor of science degree in criminal justice in 2000 from The University of Toledo. The native of the Glass City is working on a book of poems and short stories.

1619-2019: The Legacy of Black People in America Series is free and sponsored by the College of Law, the College of Arts and Letters, the Africana Studies Program, and the Office of Diversity and Inclusion.