Bench & Bar January/February 2026

Chase Dean Judith Daar, center left, and Northern Kentucky University President Cady Short-Thompson cut the ceremonial ribbon to formally open the Chase College Foundation Court room, as alumni and NKU staff members look on. Alumni, from left, are Jim Frooman, representing the foundation, Warren County Attorney Amy Hale Chandler, who funded the judicial bench in the courtroom, and Supreme Court of Kentucky Justices Robert Conley and Michelle Keller.

feel just as excited today as I did then. … I’ve always felt like Chase was my legal home. Now, I hope, Dean Daar, you won’t mind if Chase will also be an alternate home for the Kentucky Supreme Court.” • JUSTICE CONLEY: “When I walked in here, I was, ‘Wow, what planet am I on?’ It doesn’t look anything like the school I grad uated from in 1984. … This courtroom is first class. It’s going to be invaluable to the students, in teaching them trial-practice

opening of this remarkable courtroom, a space that will shape the next generation of Chase lawyers, and carry forth a legacy more than a century in the making. On behalf of the Chase College Foundation, I want to express how deeply honored we are to help make this courtroom possible.” Along with the importance of the court room for students in the repurposing and reconstruction of the first floor of Nunn Hall is the adjacent Chase Student Center.

The Chase College Foun dation Courtroom received major funding from the 72-year-old Chase College Foundation and donations from alumni and friends of the college for specific courtroom features.

courtroom for the ceremonial ribbon-cut ting. “Over the past four years, we’ve been so buoyed by 125-plus supporters of this project, from alumni and from supporters all around the region.” For alumni who spoke at the ceremony – Supreme Court of Kentucky Justices Michelle Keller and Robert Conley, Warren County Attorney Amy Hale Chandler, who funded the judicial bench in the courtroom, and Jim Frooman, who represented the Chase College Foundation – the courtroom was both a reminder of and a contrast to their student years, pointing to a future: • JUSTICE KELLER: “This courtroom looks a lot different than the one I did my first oral argument in [as a student], but I

for a changing profession. The technology is just mind-blowing.” • MS. CHANDLER: “Driving in, I felt like when I first came to Chase, all of the excite ment surrounding me. … I remembered my trial advocacy class. We really learned how to try a case and how to truly practice law. I remember [the courtroom] did not look like this. In fact, I remember moving chairs around to fit everything in for a jury box, and all of those things. … A space like this is absolutely invaluable to students. They can refine their skills long before the stakes are high, And the students can begin to see themselves as true and real advocates.” • MR. FROOMAN: “It’s a privilege to stand here today as we celebrate this

The transformation of the Chase Law Library – like that of most other law schools – from primarily a repository for bound volumes to a hub for accessing digitally stored information opened the first floor of the peviously two-floor library for other uses. Now on the reimagined first floor: the Chase College Foundation Courtroom and adjacent Chase Student Center. The center includes nine glass-wall-fronted study rooms, multiple carrels and booths for study, boardroom-length tables and a common area for relaxing or gathering. Together, the courtroom and center are a real-time fusion of past, present and future.

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