DeanWuBlog

Students

As Dean, I have many responsibilities to the Law School. Most importantly, I have responsibilities to students. After all, it is students who are our most important stakeholders.

I am always pleased to meet with students, whether organized groups or individuals, to discuss their concerns regarding matters of general interest. I hold an annual Town Hall to offer students an opportunity to discuss our accomplishments and our ambitions. I also meet regularly with the Student Board of Governors and host events for various organizations.

I believe in student participation in the academic tradition of shared governance. To ensure students are able to address the many policy issues that arise here, I appoint student representatives to the faculty committees. The SBG President nominates individuals and I typically rely heavily on his/her suggestions.

Students with questions about specific matters should contact the Dean of Students Office initially. Our Assistant Dean of Students, Ms. Michele Miller, and her staff are experts in resolving the issues that affect individual students. You may contact Assistant Dean Miller at 313-577-3993 or michele.r.miller@wayne.edu. They can provide advice and counsel as to academic as well as non-academic concerns. If for some reason they are unable to do so, they will do their best to direct you to an appropriate office.

Thank you very much.

Advocate Article, August 28

Preface: I wrote this article two years ago when I first arrived to serve as Dean of Wayne State University Law School. I thought it would be appropriate to ask the Advocate to reprint it with the beginning of the new school year. My spirit is renewed each fall with your arrival; I’d like to instill in you the desire to work together.

I am proud to be home. I grew up in the Detroit area. I remember listening to Ernie Harwell call the action on the radio when the Detroit Tigers’ spectacular rookie Mark “the Bird” Fidrych pitched during the Bicentennial, and when the Tigers set a major-league record with 35 wins out of 40 games as they started the 1984 season that they would dominate. In the summer, my family went to Boblo Island. In the winter, we went to the auto show. On weekends, my parents shopped at Eastern Market. Although I’ve lived on both coasts, I’ve always looked for Vernor’s - and I call it “pop.”

In a biography of Frank Murphy - who served as mayor of Detroit, governor of Michigan, and Attorney General of the United States before being appointed to the Supreme Court - the author opens with the observation that the Motor City was the Los Angeles of an earlier era. It is an appropriate comparison: the city that created the car culture was a city of industry, opportunity, and hope. As it invented the assembly line, paved roads, traffic lights, and urban freeways, it beckoned to immigrants from Europe as well as the Great Migration of African Americans from the Deep South. After World War II, its population reached a high of 1.85 million, making it the fourth-largest city in the nation.

I am motivated by more than mere nostalgia though. I am excited by the prospect of living and working in Detroit. I am eager to contribute to the great processes of our diverse democracy. The law school and attorneys play an integral role in advancing our principles and ideals.

Detroit has seen better times before and it is seeing better times again. The recent victory of the Pistons over the Lakers is symbolic of the resurgence of a great metropolis. Our basketball team stands for teamwork, hard work, and Midwestern values. The other indicators of progress are tangible: the construction of new housing, ranging from loft conversions to single-family dwellings; the opening of new businesses, including retail stores in the Midtown area; and the renovation of civic institutions, whether for sports or performing arts. Each of us can contribute; all of us must do so.

My goal was not to become a dean at a law school, but to be the Dean at this Law School. I can say honestly that my top choice, my only choice, was Wayne State University. Last year, I had the fortune to be a finalist in a dean search elsewhere. I had entered it at the encouragement of a law school classmate who was involved with it. While I was serious about the prospect, I ended up withdrawing. My wife and I concluded that it would be best for us if I waited several years before such a transition.

In keeping with that agreement, I consistently declined to be considered for other openings despite flattering inquiries. When I received the notice about Wayne State University, however, I asked my wife for an exception. I said that this was different, not only because it was my hometown but also because of the unique challenges presented by an urban public research campus. I explained I would try for this and only this deanship, and if I were serious about my commitment to intellectual life engaged with practical realities then it was a calling. I was thrilled to be interviewed by the committee, the faculty, the administration, and the Board of Governors, and, finally, to receive the offer from Provost Nancy Barrett. I could not be more enthusiastic.

We share a set of goals: students, alumni, faculty, staff, and supporters alike. We all want Wayne State University Law School to realize its potential. My leadership is important to the tasks which must be undertaken, but your support and participation will be crucial.

Let us begin.

Epilogue: Associate Dean David Moran and I will take turns writing a column for the Advocate. We look forward to your participation in the many activities of the Law School.

Welcome

August 14, 2006

Dear Students:

I look forward to beginning the school year, and I wanted to write with my welcome to all of you. I envy you your opportunity to pursue higher education.

You are our most important stakeholders. Open communications are crucial. Throughout the year, Associate Dean David Moran and I expect to alternate in writing a column for the Advocate newspaper to ensure you are informed about the many positive developments at our law school. I also expect to begin blogging, and I will announce details as soon as possible. There are a few announcements I’d like to make meanwhile.

We have extended our wireless network beyond the library, to the classroom building and the second-floor seminar rooms. This wireless network is already fully operational. The Technology Committee is developing a policy for laptop exams, and we are selecting a software program to allow for this innovation. We expect implementation of the policy in the fall semester.

We will begin operations of the coffee cart, to be located on the first floor across from the Admissions Office, shortly after Labor Day. The coffee cart, a concept suggested by the Student Board of Governors, will greatly enhance our food services at the Law School. The Sidebar will be closed.

On September 19, at 6 p.m., I will hold the Annual Town Hall for all students. This is an opportunity for you to meet with the senior administrators of the Law School. I invite you and look forward to meeting.

Thank you very much.