Law Dean Nicholas W. Allard, from the left, Jacksonville City Council President Terrance Freeman, Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry, Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs and Provost Dr. Christine Sapienza, and Jacksonville University President Tim Cost cut the ribbon making the opening the Jacksonville University new college of law.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Jacksonville University College of Law represents much more than the official opening of the classroom, library, office, and study spaces as the launch of the law school in downtown Jacksonville was decades in the making, according to the university.

It all started in the 1930s with the original charter for the university, then known as William J. Porter University, which “envisioned the study of the principles and practices of law” at the school. Nearly 100 years later, that became a reality as the inaugural 14 students started classes in August.