Former Idaho justice to head law school

BOISE – A private Lutheran university has named former Idaho Supreme Court Justice Cathy Silak dean of the law school it expects to open in Boise in 2010.

The board that governs Concordia University in Portland picked Silak, one of only two women to serve on Idaho’s high court and the first female judge appointed to the Idaho Court of Appeals, from among 50 candidates.

“Cathy rose to the top pretty quickly,” Concordia President Charles Schlimpert said Wednesday in Boise.

Silak offers a familiar public face to plans by the private Oregon university to open a law school in two years. Part of her job will be to help nail down the rest of the $7 million Concordia needs before it can enroll students.

“She’s extraordinarily passionate about starting this law school,” Concordia Vice President Gary Withers said.

Silak, 58, was on the high court for seven years, losing her seat in 2000. She served on the bench with former Idaho Supreme Court Chief Justice Linda Copple Trout, who is backing the University of Idaho’s plans to expand its law school in Boise.

The Moscow-based university wants to expand its law school by adding a full-fledged branch campus 300 miles south in the state capital. Concordia announced late last year that it wanted to open a three-year law school in Boise.