On Saturday night, Dean David H. Getches was presented the Community Service Award by the Colorado Hispanic Bar Association at their 2008 Annual banquet, titled “Diversity and the Legal Profession: A Timeless Struggle.” The prestigious Community Service Award is given to a non-profit organization or individual committed to providing services to benefit the Hispanic Community. Dean Getches’ many contributions were noted in his nominations and award presentation. Since his appointment as Dean of Colorado Law in 2003, Dean Getches has truly made a difference in the Hispanic community by his personal fortitude and commitment to Latino students, attorneys, judges, and the community at-large. During his tenure, the law school has increased its scholarship awards to law students from $600,000 in 2004 to $2.1 million in 2007. At the same time and without compromising entering student admission criteria, he has increased our Hispanic student enrollment to 40, which is one of the highest Hispanic student enrollments at the school in many years. This past year, he arduously worked to gain the passage of a state law to allow public universities to grant Loan Repayment Assistance Grants to graduates who enter into public interest legal careers. Then, he gained financial support to fund an endowment to award these grants to public interest graduates from Colorado Law. His hiring of diverse administrators has been truly commendable. His leadership team is among the most diverse in a law school in America today. In this past year, Dean Getches co-chaired and led the Dean's Diversity Summit to fruition. This was a major project of focus on the hiring of diverse candidates into law firms. Most significant was the major study of diversity in the legal profession that was completed as part of the project. Dean Getches publishes lectures and teaches on issues of environmental law and has guided national legislatures in Latin American countries in their consideration of legislation regarding water, air, and issues of pollution and use. This past year, he published significant works on environmental issues in Latin America with Latin American academics, most notable among them: Agua y Derecho: Políticas Hídricas, Derechos Consuetudinarios e Identidades Locales, with Rutgerd Boelens and Armando Guevara Gil. In 2006, the Hispanic National Bar Association recognized Dean Getches for his Notable Commitment to Diversity at Colorado Law and in the Legal Profession with the HNBA's President's Award. Photos of the event can be found at http://1focustree.smugmug.com/gallery/4249816#248767008.