History of Stetson Law

Florida's First Law School

Stetson University College of Law humbly began on Oct. 2, 1900, with five students from Florida. Since then, the state's oldest law school has trained thousands to become legal experts and societal leaders.

In 1954, Stetson Law moved from DeLand to a beautiful new 21-acre campus in Gulfport. An enrollment boom after World War II spurred the relocation to the 17 buildings which had been part of the Hotel Rolyat built in 1925. Today, the student body exceeds 1,000 and Stetson Law has grown to become home of the nation's top-ranked advocacy program and LL.M. degree programs in advocacy, elder law and international law. The Tampa Law Center opened in 2004 as a major hub for legal activity -- housing evening law classes, the Tampa branch of the Florida Second District Court of Appeal, and legal conferences.

Stetson students study in the library in 1902

1900

Stetson Law founded in DeLand

1902

First graduating class

1922

Stetson Law becomes three-year school

1926

Stetson Law applicants need two years of college

1926

Hotel Rolyat opens

The Stetson University College of Law campus in Gulfport once housed a magnificent "Florida boom period" hotel known as the Rolyat. The hotel opened in January 1926 and was a re-creation of a Spanish walled settlement of the feudal ages. On opening night, the main fountain in the Plaza Mayor was filled with champagne.

1930

Stetson Law becomes ABA approved

1931

Stetson Law joins AALS

1932

Babe Ruth visits Hotel Rolyat

Babe Ruth signed his 1932 Yankees contract officially in the lounge and a second time for photographs in the Plaza Mayor at the Rolyat Hotel.

1932

Florida Military Academy opens

In 1932, the Hotel Rolyat closed due to poor economic conditions. Instead of selling the land, the hotel's owners purchased a boys' school and moved it to Gulfport, where it was located until 1952.

1942

Stetson Law closes until end of WWII

1947

Stetson Law moves to naval base at DeLand Airport, enrollment grows to 194 due to G.I. Bill

1954

Stetson Law relocated to Gulfport

Class of 1959 at graduation with faculty members

1957

First Law College Board of Overseers

A male and a female student in the Law Library in the 1950s

1958

Charles A. Dana Library opens

1963

Stetson is first law school in Florida to establish clinical program

1966

J.D. replaces LL.B.

1968

H. Jackson Crummer classroom building and Eleanor Naylor Dana Administrative Hall open

Stetson Law Review students gathered at a desk

1970

Stetson Law Review is first published

1976

Harold L. Sebring Courtroom opens

1994

Stetson wins all five National Trial Advocacy competitions, Carey & Florin Courtroom dedicated

1995

Stetson Law ranked No. 1 for trial skills education

1998

LL.M. program begins, Law Library and Legal Information Center opens

Stetson Law hosted United States Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg as the keynote speaker for the dedication of the new law library on Saturday, Sept. 5, 1998. During the event, she discussed the history and evolution of law libraries in the United States, the changes in law education over the course of history, and the rise of women in the law profession.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg delivers keynote speech at the dedication of the Law Library in 1998

2002

Student Center opens, part-time J.D. program launched

2004

Tampa Law Center opens, Wm. Reece Smith Jr. Courtroom dedicated

Students take an exam inside the Eleazer Courtroom

2005

William Eleazer Courtroom dedicated

2006

Florin Roebig Courtroom upgraded and rededicated

2010

Dolly & Homer Hand Library named

2012

Veterans Law Institute opens

2018

Veterans Law Institute moves to new building

2019

Professor Michèle Alexandre selected as Dean

Professor Michèle Alexandre, J.D., a leading civil rights scholar, administrator and trailblazer, is selected as the next dean of the College of Law at Stetson University. Alexandre is the College of Law's first African American dean.