Utah Law Dean Runs 100-Mile Race For 100% Bar Passage/100% Professional Employment Program

Following up on my previous posts:

• Utah Law School Celebrates Opening Of New Building With Audacious Goal: 100% Bar Passage, 100% Professional Employment (Sept. 4, 2015)
• Utah Dean Adler: 100% Bar Passage/100% Professional Employment And The Value Of Aspiration (Sept. 17, 2015)

National Law Journal, Utah Law Dean Runs 100-Mile Race for 100% Bar-Pass Program:

More than 11 hours into his bid to complete a 100-mile ultramarathon on Friday, the rain began falling on Robert Adler, dean of the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law. The weather worsened as night fell, leaving Adler, 60, and his fellow runners in the Zion 100 Ultramarathon slogging through an increasingly muddy trail in the dark.

Despite the deteriorating conditions, Adler remained determined to finish the race and to underscore his commitment to the school’s ambitious plan to have 100 percent of its graduates pass the bar exam on their first attempt and have 100 percent in professional jobs within 10 months of leaving campus. The race took place just outside of Zion National Park, in the southwest corner of Utah.

Adler pledged months ago to complete race in order to raise awareness of the so-called 100/100 initiative. In the end, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management cut the race short due to the poor trail conditions, but Adler finished 84 miles in just under 26 hours—and almost certainly would have finished the full 100 miles within the 34-hour cutoff.

The National Law Journal spoke with Adler Monday about the race and the law school’s push to boost bar pass and employment rates. His answers have been edited for length.