The faculty includes about 60 full-time professors and about 100 adjunct professors. The ratio of professors to students is one to 14. The median GPA at the law school is 3.4, and the median age of students is 25. The University's College of Law has around 1200 current students. The median LSAT score is 158. About 85% of students receive some kind of financial aid to attend the school. Tuition is around $45,221 which includes the cost of living, books, and payment for classes.
The 210,000 square-foot school was named after Donald and Susan Sturm, who gave millions to the school, in 2002. The couple owns the Colorado-based American National Bank. The monetary gift was the largest in the law school's history. Donald Sturm graduated from the law school in 1958.
The school houses law rooms which include a 120-person "moot courtroom" where students can get firsthand experiences in the law-room setting. The school offers a variety of law categories including international and Native American law. According to school officials, The University of Denver was the first school to require pro bono clinical work for students who are graduating.
The school recently elected its first Hispanic dean, José Roberto (Beto) Juárez, Jr. The school also works with schools abroad and offers internship programs. These programs include the "Lawyering in Spanish" program and programs in other emerging areas of law. The "Lawyering in Spanish" program not only teaches Spanish language skills in general but also teaches specific Spanish legal terms. Students can then go on to internships in countries like Spain and Uruguay. It provides a way for them to reach out to broader markets in the law industry. Since there is high demand for bilingual people in the workforce, this is a good way for lawyers to work in diverse situations, a bonus given the amount of immigration that the U.S. experiences.
Notable alumni include former U.S. Interior Secretary Gale Norton (1978), former U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Jim Nicholson (1972), and former Colorado Governor John A. Love (1941).
A special thank you to Chase Squires from the news and public affairs office at the University of Denver for his added contribution to this article.