RALEIGH, N.C. — Melissa Essary, dean of Campbell University’s Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law has been honored by Business Leader magazine as one of twenty-four Triangle Impact Business Leaders of 2007/2008. Essary, who joined Campbell Law as dean in August of 2006, was chosen for her tremendous effort in bringing the school to Raleigh. She is the only woman as well as the only leader of a higher education institution selected. According to Vera Simms, publisher of Business Leader, the award recognizes recipients’ tremendous achievements and contributions their companies have made to the Triangle business community.Dean Essary and her colleagues were at the center of the momentum that led to the bold and visionary move that will place Campbell Law in the heart of North Carolina’s capital city. In October of 2007, Campbell University’s Board of Trustees voted unanimously to relocate the School of Law to Raleigh, the largest state capital in the country without a law school. In the year preceding this vote, Dean Essary joined an existing Campbell Law Raleigh Task Force that carefully studied the feasibility of relocating the school. In addition to Essary, task force members included two Campbell Law faculty, one being a former Dean of Campbell Law, as well as the Campbell University Provost and VP for Business Affairs. The task force worked closely with scores of Campbell Law alumni, students, and key business and government leaders to carefully understand the opportunities and challenges associated with the potential move.”I’m honored to be part of the exceptional group that Business Leader has chosen to receive this award,” said Dean Essary. “I am proud to help lead one of the premier institutions of legal education in the Southeast and look forward to building upon this legacy as we relocate our school to its new home in Raleigh.”In addition to Dean Essary, three other North Carolina law professionals were selected for this honor. Kent Christison, partner-in-charge at Kennedy Covington, Dan Hartzog, managing partner at Cranfill Sumner & Hartzog and Dennis Wicker of Helms Mulliss & Wicker PLLC.Campbell Law School will move from the University’s main campus in Buies Creek, N.C. to downtown Raleigh by the fall of 2009. The school plans to move to 225 Hillsborough St., the building known as Hillsborough Place.About the Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law at Campbell University Since its founding in 1976, the Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law at Campbell University has received two prestigious awards from the American Bar Association (ABA), the first for having the nation’s best Trial Advocacy Program, and the second for having the nation’s top Professionalism Program. For 2007, the school’s Moot Court Program is ranked 13th among 196 law schools nationally. Campbell Law boasts more than 2,800 alumni, including 1,900 who reside and work in North Carolina. Please visit www.law.campbell.edu for more information.
Business Leader Magazine Selects Dean Melissa Essary as a Triangle Impact Business Leader of the Yea