O. W. Coburn School of Law
Encyclopedia
The O. W. Coburn School of Law was the law school of Oral Roberts University
. The school was named after donor Orin Wesley Coburn, the founder of Coburn Optical Industries and the father of future US politician Tom Coburn
.
The school opened in 1979. Its founding dean was Charles Kothe, a Tulsa, Oklahoma
labor attorney. Other professors included Anita Hill
, John Eidsmoe
, Herb Titus
, and Rutherford Institute
founder John W. Whitehead.
In 1985, the school closed, with its 190,000 volume law library, as well as 5 professors and 23 students, moving to CBN University (now Regent University
). Since the new CBN law school would not initially be accredited (and in fact did not receive provisional accreditation until 1989), students graduating in spring 1986 were allowed to state they graduated from Coburn, in order to be listed as graduating from an accredited school.
U.S. Representative Michele Bachmann
was a graduate of the last class at Coburn.
(ABA), which provides accreditation for US law schools, denied Coburn's initial application for provisional accreditation. Oral Roberts University's requirement that students must take an oath of religious faith was considered to be contrary to ABA's Standard 211, which states:
The school sued the ABA, claiming that the denial was a violation of their First Amendment rights. A judge enjoined the ABA from denying provisional accreditation, ruling that the ABA's role in accreditation is equivalent to a "state action," and that Standard 211 denied a private institution's right to freedom of religion without any restrictions by the state.
After a "spirited debate," the ABA's House of Delegates in August 1981 voted 147 to 127 to amend Standard 211 to add a clause including the phrase:
Coburn was then granted provisional accreditation.
Oral Roberts University
Oral Roberts University , based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in the United States, is an interdenominational, Charismatic Christian, comprehensive university with an enrollment of about 3,790 students from 49 U.S. states along with a significant number of international students from 70 countries...
. The school was named after donor Orin Wesley Coburn, the founder of Coburn Optical Industries and the father of future US politician Tom Coburn
Tom Coburn
Thomas Allen "Tom" Coburn, M.D. , is an American politician, medical doctor, and Southern Baptist deacon. A member of the Republican Party, he currently serves as the junior U.S. Senator from Oklahoma. In the Senate, he is known as "Dr. No" for his tendency to place holds on and vote against bills...
.
The school opened in 1979. Its founding dean was Charles Kothe, a Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 391,906 as of the 2010 census, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 937,478 residents in the MSA and 988,454 in the CSA. Tulsa's...
labor attorney. Other professors included Anita Hill
Anita Hill
Anita Faye Hill is an American attorney and academic—presently a professor of social policy, law and women's studies at Brandeis University's Heller School for Social Policy and Management. She became a national figure in 1991 when she alleged that U.S. Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas had...
, John Eidsmoe
John Eidsmoe
John Eidsmoe is an attorney and a professor of constitutional law and related subjects. He has previously taught at the Thomas Goode Jones School of Law, Faulkner University, Montgomery, Alabama, and at the O. W. Coburn School of Law at Oral Roberts University. He served in the US Air Force as a Lt...
, Herb Titus
Herb Titus
Herbert W. Titus is an American attorney, writer, and politician. He was a candidate for Vice-President of the United States in the 1996 U.S. presidential election on the Constitution Party ticket....
, and Rutherford Institute
Rutherford Institute
The Rutherford Institute is a non-profit group based in Charlottesville, Virginia dedicated to the defense of civil liberties, human rights, and religious liberty. It was founded in 1982 by John W. Whitehead...
founder John W. Whitehead.
In 1985, the school closed, with its 190,000 volume law library, as well as 5 professors and 23 students, moving to CBN University (now Regent University
Regent University
Regent University is a private coeducational interdenominational Christian university located in Virginia Beach, Virginia, United States. The school was founded by the American televangelist Pat Robertson in 1978 as Christian Broadcasting Network University. A satellite campus located in...
). Since the new CBN law school would not initially be accredited (and in fact did not receive provisional accreditation until 1989), students graduating in spring 1986 were allowed to state they graduated from Coburn, in order to be listed as graduating from an accredited school.
U.S. Representative Michele Bachmann
Michele Bachmann
Michele Marie Bachmann is a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, representing , a post she has held since 2007. The district includes several of the northern suburbs of the Twin Cities, such as Woodbury, and Blaine as well as Stillwater and St. Cloud.She is currently a...
was a graduate of the last class at Coburn.
Accreditation controversy
In May 1981, the American Bar AssociationAmerican Bar Association
The American Bar Association , founded August 21, 1878, is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. The ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of academic standards for law schools, and the formulation...
(ABA), which provides accreditation for US law schools, denied Coburn's initial application for provisional accreditation. Oral Roberts University's requirement that students must take an oath of religious faith was considered to be contrary to ABA's Standard 211, which states:
The school sued the ABA, claiming that the denial was a violation of their First Amendment rights. A judge enjoined the ABA from denying provisional accreditation, ruling that the ABA's role in accreditation is equivalent to a "state action," and that Standard 211 denied a private institution's right to freedom of religion without any restrictions by the state.
After a "spirited debate," the ABA's House of Delegates in August 1981 voted 147 to 127 to amend Standard 211 to add a clause including the phrase:
Coburn was then granted provisional accreditation.
External links
- The Regent University Law Library: The First Thirty Years—Contains material on Coburn's establishment, history, and dissolution