Saturday, September 30, 2006
Why Blog?
Why blog?
Everyone who follows current events or popular culture is aware that blogs have become established as an important medium that is increasingly difficult to distinguish from the mainstream media (MSM). Even people who have never read a blog have their worldview influenced by the blogosphere, because in all its chaos it is starting to set the agenda for television, radio, magazines, and newspapers. Law students who came straight from their undergraduate education and who are of “traditional” age have grown up with the internet; their successors will have never known a world without the web. Courts are even citing blogs written by law professors, despite their temporary nature.
Blogs are wonderfully democratic, promoting both liberty and equality. Anyone regardless of technological expertise can post his or her thoughts with essentially no restraints, and anonymous authors have proven they can challenge authority effectively. It may be easier to criticize than it is to create, but a free press is supposed to be a threat to power.
Yet blogs are dangerous to their creators, too. There have already been infamous cases of individuals losing their jobs because they wrote recklessly about their personal lives, as if they were exhibitionists who forget they had attracted an audience. It also has become common for employers to investigate prospective hires with a simple search.
For me as a law school dean, this blog allows direct access to many stakeholders – especially students. It is an effective means of sharing information as well as opinions. I am mindful, however, of the role that I am honored to play as a leader of a public institution. There are many subjects that would not be appropriate for me to discuss with the general public.
On the whole, I am convinced that a blog can be not only worthwhile but also transformative. Everything that I post here will be my own work; this will not become a corporate effort at spin. I will write as frankly as possible, as often as possible, and as substantively as possible. I welcome your views about subjects to cover (send an email to frankhwu@wayne.edu).
Sunday, September 24, 2006
Boards
I write to provide some background about the Board of Governors (BOG) of Wayne State University and the Board of Visitors (BOV) of the Law School. Wayne State University is one of three constitutionally-chartered state-supported institutions of higher education in Michigan; the others are University of Michigan and Michigan State University. These three institutions are also the only universities with significant research programs. There are ten other state-supported institutions of higher education in Michigan, but the others do not enjoy the same status nor do they have extensive research programs.
The BOG is the governing body of Wayne State University. You may be more familiar with a Board of Trustees, which is the functional equivalent at other institutions. The eight members of the Board of Governors are elected on a state-wide basis in partisan races. Two of our Law School alumni are Governors: Eugene Driker (Democrat, Class of 1961) and Elizabeth Hardy (Republican, Class of 1984).
The BOV is an advisory body of the Law School. Most law schools have a Board of Visitors or a Committee of Visitors, which serves primarily an advancement (i.e., fundraising) purpose and consists primarily of alumni. The BOV, unlike the BOG, does not have policy-making authority, but as Dean I consult with the BOV, especially its Executive Committee. The new co-chairs of the BOV are David Hempsted (class of 1975) and Earle Erman (class of 1974).
ICLE
You may be interested to know about continuing legal education (CLE). While as students you are engaged in your formal legal education, it is the perfect opportunity for cultivating the life-long learner’s habits of mind. Once you have become members of the bar, you will find that your practices are more fulfilling if you are constantly challenged to develop new skill sets.
We enjoy an excellent relationship with an organization we co-founded, the non-profit Institute for Continuing Legal Education (ICLE, sometimes pronounced as an acronym and sometimes spelled out by letters). In 1959, our Law School, along with University of Michigan Law School and the State Bar of Michigan, founded ICLE to provide continuing legal education. Our former Dean (1987-1992) John Reed was the first Executive Director of ICLE, which is formally housed within University of Michigan and located in Ann Arbor. As a founding sponsor, we have four seats on the ICLE Executive Committee, which serves in effect as its governing board. Since 1959, the other law schools in Michigan have become sponsors, but they are limited to one seat on the ICLE Executive Committee. (There is an exception to the participation of other law schools. As of last year, MSU ceased to be a sponsor, and instead it offers its own competing CLE programming.)
ICLE has become nationally known as a leader, not only for its courses but also for its numerous practitioner-oriented publications and its extensive digital programming (including a Michigan legal database that equals or exceeds what is available through Lexis and Westlaw). In a jurisdiction that does not mandate CLE, ICLE also has flourished and enjoys an excellent customer base among the bench and the bar. Many of our alumni, and some of our faculty, have served or currently serve as ICLE lecturers and authors.
I serve as Chair of the ICLE Executive Committee; this position rotates among the three founding sponsors on an annual basis. I have designated Professors Laura Bartell, Bill Burnham, and Noah Hall as our other representatives. The Executive Director of ICLE is Lynn Chard, Esq. Information about ICLE may be found at www.icle.org.
We derive several benefits from our relationship with ICLE. Our law library receives a free copy of all ICLE books, along with the annual updates to those books. Law students may attend ICLE partnership seminars (standard half-day and full-day seminars) for $25.00. Law students who wish to attend ICLE Institutes or hands-on skills training, pay one-half the lowest advertised price (usually the new lawyer rate). Ms. Chard advises me that “these student rates are not listed on ICLE’s brochures or on the web site. It is best to call ICLE to register. Indicate that you are a law student and wish to take advantage of the law student rate.”
Friday, September 22, 2006
13 Weeks
It was recently brought to my attention that the State Bar of Michigan (SBM) requires that applicants for admission have attended an institution at which the school year "be at least 30 weeks." In contrast, the American Bar Association requires for accreditation purposes that an institution offer 130 days of instruction (which works out to 26 weeks). A student was concerned with our change last year to a 13 week semester. The Associate Dean has researched the matter and it turns out that for the SBM, the school year includes study days and the final examination period, and by that standard our school year is 32 weeks. Accordingly, there is no issue raised by our 13 week semester. Nonetheless, I have written to the SBM to suggest amending the rule to ensure clarity. Thank you.
Thursday, September 21, 2006
Titles
When I started out as a law professor, I thought it would be best to use first names with students on a reciprocal basis. So I would call them by their first name and I'd encourage them to call me "Frank." After all, I was not too much older than most of them and younger than some of them. It would set a friendlier tone in the classroom.
After a year, I realized that this was -- at least for me in that particular context -- not the best practice. My age and their ages were irrelevant: I was the teacher and they were the students and we were not on an equal basis. If we were, there would be no reason for me to be standing behind the podium at the front of the classroom. And of course even I didn't want to resemble the stereotype of a law professor as curmudgeon, the students and I were not in fact friends. Suggesting that we had such a relationship made me less effective, not more effective, in a professional school.
What convinced me, however, to shift to last names was the disparity that became apparent. People are raised in different cultural backgrounds with different expectations about social distance and respect. No matter how much I tried to persuade everyone to use first names, a significant number of students would not do so. For understandable reasons, indeed with principles that perhaps reflected their seriousness of purpose in our shared academic endeavor, they insisted on calling me "Professor," or even "Sir." As a consequence, allowing people to use my first name only produced an uncomfortable situation. A handful of students, some of whom presumed a familiarity that was not mutual, would use my first name; a few others would, with evident discomfort, use my first name; and everyone else would use my last name. Based on casual observation, my sense was that the differences correlated strongly to race, gender, socioeconomic status, religion, and geographic origins – criteria that could lead to invidious distinctions.
To ensure I set a good example, I try when addressing students to refer to everyone who works at the Law School by title and last name. Of course, individuals may have different preferences and there are many instances where a relationship develops that makes first names entirely appropriate.
Once a student has graduated, I expect we will both have a different understanding of matters. Anyone who is an alumnus should use my first name; it would be awfully pretentious of me to ask otherwise. For our goal is to ensure that the students whom we have the privilege of educating become our peers as members of the legal community.
Monday, September 18, 2006
What a Dean Does: Advancement
In a series of posts to this blog, I’ll describe “what a dean does.” It is important to ensure all stakeholders are aware of the responsibilities of anyone who is entrusted with a leadership role.
The most important responsibility for modern law school deans is advancement of the institution. Advancement encompasses many aspects, not only fundraising but also ensuring positive publicity and good relations with the bench and the bar. Institutions of higher education have always relied on alumni and other supporters, but even public schools have become much more heavily dependent on private sources of revenue as state support has been reduced significantly over the past few years. Our Law School has held a leadership role within the state legal community, which requires the constant cultivation of relationships. Concrete examples of advancement activities include hosting receptions at the state bar annual meeting and similar gatherings; meetings with leading law firms, especially those with large numbers of graduates; and one-on-one lunches with those who have contributed to advise them about the many positive developments that are underway.
Many people complain, and rightly so, that they see a law school dean only when he or she wants to ask for money. We owe them more than that. I have tried to generate a genuine sense of stakeholding instead. Even those who most enjoyed their first year experience are likely to keep giving money only if they trust they are valued for more than that money and so long as they believe their investment is appreciating.
The scope of advancement is staggering. The best example is the Keith Building and Center for Civil Rights. This building is expected to be completed on the basis of gifts, not tuition money nor through a state subsidy. Although we have secured the largest gift in the history of our law school, $3 million from philanthropist Al Taubman in honor of his friend, the Honorable Damon J. Keith, we must raise many millions more.
Beyond capital improvements, we must increase our endowment to provide lasting support for everything from scholarships to endowed chairs to public lectures. Endowments are permanent. The gift itself forms the corpus, which is invested and not spent. It is the income on which we depend, but that is typically not more than five percent (there is some fluctuation in the actual payout rate depending on market factors, but it never exceeds five percent). Thus, it takes at least a gift of $100,000 to set up an annual scholarship of $5,000.
Our annual giving campaign, which depends on a letter sent in the holiday season and telemarketing with student callers, sustains much of the discretionary spending in which we engage. For example, it funds the summer research stipends that professors use to produce law review articles.
Of course, a dean does not conduct advancement activities alone. I benefit from a talented team. It includes full-time professionals such as Michelle Olmsted, our Director of Advancement, and part-time volunteers who serve on our Board of Visitors, an advisory body consisting mainly of alumni who have been actively involved since graduation.
The participation of all of our stakeholders is crucial to successful advancement. Our rankings are based in part on the level of alumni giving. Every donation counts, no matter the amount. And as in every other endeavor, the most likely future supporters of the Law School are our current supporters. It isn’t easy to foster stakeholding – most people are more loyal to their undergraduate institution than to their law school; it’s inherently harder on a commuter campus than a residential campus to generate a feeling of community; and the frugality we have had to practice has meant fewer amenities than we would like.
Yet it is clear that the trends are favorable. It is up to all of us to continue them.
Saturday, September 16, 2006
Introducing the Law School Administration
Our Law School is a large institution with many offices that have distinct responsibilities. I would like to introduce the talented individuals who serve as administrators here, to ensure that students are able to contact the appropriate person for any matter that arises during their education or afterward.
Our Associate Dean is David Moran. The Associate Dean is responsible for all aspects of our academic program, including development of the course schedule. He also supervises the Admissions Office and the Dean of Students Office. The Dean traditionally names an Associate Dean from the faculty. The Dean and Associate Dean work together closely on all aspects of the law school operations, ranging from strategic planning and budgeting to policy-making and personnel; however, the Associate Dean is not heavily involved in advancement. Professor Moran, who is a tenured Associate Professor, became Associate Dean in January 2006, after arguing before the Supreme Court for the fifth time. An expert in criminal law, he has won the Teacher of the Year Award each year he has been on the full-time faculty, including winning both First-Year and Upper-Class Teacher of the Year in 2005-06.
Our Law Library Director is Georgia Ann Clark. The Law Library is part of the Wayne State University library system, which has its own Dean, Dr. Sandra Yee. Ms. Clark, who began service at the Law Library in 1973, has built it into the 32nd largest law library in the nation. Under her leadership, it has excelled in offering services to the community as well.
The Admissions Office is operated by Assistant Dean for Admissions and Recruitment Linda Fowler Sims and Director of Admissions Marcia McDonald. They are responsible for all aspects of admissions, including decision-making, working with a faculty Admissions Committee (chaired this year by Professor Jan Findlater). Although current students typically will have little need for further contact with the Admissions Office, we encourage any current students who would like to assist in recruitment of prospective students to contact the Admissions Office. Assistant Dean Sims is a graduate of Vanderbilt Law School and Ms. McDonald is a graduate of University of Michigan; both have many years of experience in law school admissions and have served so well as the first faces that many of our students encounter from the moment they considering legal education to the moment the arrive here.
Our Director of Financial Aid, Karen Fulford, maintains her office within the Admissions Office. Ms. Fulford came to the Law School from Walsh College and University of Detroit-Mercy. She works within the university-wide financial aid system, and she is responsible for all issues related to processing of financial aid, including scholarships, grants, work-study, and loans arranged through the Law School. She does everything she can to provide advice and counsel to students about their financial needs, guiding them through the process.
The Dean of Students Office is operated by Assistant Dean of Students Michele Miller and Director of Student Life and Educational Outreach Ricardo Villarosa. As a general rule, any inquiry affecting current students, whether academic or non-academic in nature, should be directed to the Dean of Students Office as an initial matter. The professionals in the Dean of Students Office will be able to resolve issues or if appropriate refer individuals to another office. Assistant Dean Miller, a former schoolteacher and attorney with one of the largest firms in the state, is an alumnus of the Law School (class of 1986) and Mr. Villarosa, a recipient of the prestigious David Henry award as a WSU undergraduate, is an alumnus of the first class of the joint JD-MBA program (class of 1997). All issues related to the Lombard Fellows and the Dean’s Scholars also should be directed to Mr. Villarosa. Together, Assistant Dean Miller and Mr. Villarosa form a terrific team that ensures we have a “one-stop shop” for virtually everything students need.
Our Registrar is Betty Van Goethem. The Registrar is responsible for all aspects of course registration, administration of exams, and issuance of transcripts. Ms. Van Goethem has forty years experience in the office and has worked with eight of the nine deans of the Law School. She is invaluable and helps keep the institution operating, especially during the most stressful periods of registration, the start of classes, and final exams.
Our Career Services Office is operated by Director of Career Services Krystal Gardner. The CSO assists students with job placement, including in judicial clerkships. (Note that first year students may use CSO services only after November 1; this is a rule governing all law schools, not only Wayne State University.) Ms. Gardner, a former journalist, has practiced law at a prominent local firm, with a Fortune 500 company, with the federal government, and with a state prosecutor’s office. She has introduced important innovations to the office and improved its operations in all respects.
The Advancement Office is operated by Director of Advancement Michelle Olmsted, who works with Associate Director of Advancement Ericka Jackson, Development Officers Sarah May and Angie Zelenak, and Director of Communications Heidi Christein. The Advancement Office is responsible for all fundraising activities, and student groups involved in any fundraising should contact Ms. Olmsted in advance o undertaking any such activities. Ms. Jackson also serves as Director of the Damon J. Keith Collection and the staff to the Alumni Association. Ms. Christein handles all media and public relations and publicity for the Law School. Ms. Olmsted joined the Law School after serving as Director of Advancement at the Business School, and, prior to that, in several increasingly responsible roles in advancement at Georgia State University. Ms. Jackson is an alumnus of the Law School and practiced law with a major local firm. Together, Ms. Olmsted and Ms. Jackson ensure that the many friends of our Law School continue to be informed about our progress and provide the support crucial to continuing the many positive developments. They play key roles in the fundraising for the Keith Classroom Building and Center for Civil Rights. Ms. May also is a graduate of the Law School (class of 2003), whom we were pleased to welcome back just this summer.
I am pleased to announce that Pat Gawlik will be the new Director of Operations and Finance, leading the Business Office, beginning October 9, 2006. Ms. Gawlik has sixteen years of business management experience at Wayne State in University Relations, Marketing and Communications, the President’s Office and Development and Alumni Affairs. She has a Bachelor’s degree from Madonna University and a Master’s degree from Wayne State. The Business Office processes all disbursements and reimbursements. It also is responsible for the physical facilities. All building or maintenance issues should be referred to the Building Coordinator, Ms. Susan Williams, who is on the staff of the Business Office.
Finally, the Assistant to the Dean is Karen Tarnas. She has many responsibilities, including arranging all appointments on my schedule, supervising the Dean’s Suite, handling special projects, and all-around troubleshooting. Ms. Tarnas has worked in several capacities at Wayne State University, including organizing commencement ceremonies. She is a wonderful right-hand person upon whom I rely to ensure everything functions as it should on a day-to-day basis.
Thank you very much.
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Faculty-Student Mixers
Dear WSU Law School Students:
I am pleased to announce we are continuing our tradition of faculty- student Mixers. Beginning in 2004, these faculty-student Mixers were initially with a generous gift from the Benard Maas Foundation. This year, the Izumi Family Fund has taken over fiscal responsibility for the Mixers. We have plans for three events during the academic year, bringing together faculty and students informally and creating a sense of community.
Please join us for our first Izumi Mixer for 2006-2007 from 6 pm to 8 pm, Wednesday, November 15, in the Barris Lounge. Professors Linda Beale, Erica Beecher-Monas, and Susan Evans Cancelosi will host an informal get-together with food, drink and poker for all. They asked me to ensure students are advised: “Don’t be shy if you don’t already play poker--the less experience the better. We’ll have a very brief review of the basic rules (including, of course, Texas Hold’em), and then divide into tables to play a few fun games. We’ll provide sets of cards and wrapped candies for poker chips (winners, of course, may consume their winnings). We expect lots of laughs as we see who has the best poker face! You may even be caught on candid camera . . .”
Everyone who has attended these Mixers in the past has enjoyed them immensely, and I hope you will join us for this first Mixer of the new academic year.
Faculty Hiring
Faculty hiring is crucial to our continued success. Our strategic plan calls for the addition of seven tenured/tenure-track professors, one clinical professor, and one legal research and writing instructor. This is the most ambitious program of faculty hiring in our institutional history. The goals are as a net gain, meaning accounting for any departures of professors.
Faculty hiring is crucial for several reasons. When I arrived in July 2004, our student-faculty ratio was one of the worst among the 190 or so ABA-accredited law schools in the United States. When we are done, our student-faculty ratio should be among the top 75.
Most importantly, new professors expand our curriculum coverage. Students complain from time to time, with good reason, that we do not offer as many classes as we should in different areas and at different times. Each new professor will teach, in a typical year, two courses per semester, for a total of four courses per year. Our faculty hiring has been so successful that we are now using every available classroom during our peak periods, plus rooms not previously used for instructional purposes -- this space problem is why we must undertake the Keith Building, a subject to be taken up later.
In addition, new professors enhance our reputation. We have a strong tradition of academic excellence that is based on the scholarly work of our faculty whether through casebooks, treatises, popular books, law review articles or interdisciplinary research. Each new professor who is tenured or tenure-track is expected to publish regularly, and as they do so they will raise our national profile.
Finally, new full-time professors reduce our reliance on part-time teachers. The ABA and the AALS (Association of American Law Schools) have rules that emphasize the importance of full-time professors. We have enjoyed the benefits of a terrific part-time professors as well, many of them our alumni, but we must have better ratio of full-time to part-time professors. Indeed, with more tenured/tenure-track professors, we also will be able to maintain our current level of adjunct professors without violating the relevant rules.
We are already making significant progress. In 2005-06, we welcomed four individuals to the full-time faculty (Erica Beecher-Monas, Jocelyn Benson, Paul Dubinsky, and Noah Hall). There has never been as much hiring as was done last year. For 2006-07, we welcome eight individuals who are new and welcome back two individuals who have long-standing relationships with the Law School. They are as follows, in alphabetical order.
Derek Bambauer is a professor who specializes in intellectual property. He joins us from Harvard University, where he was a Research Fellow.
Linda Beale is a professor who specializes in tax. She joins us from the faculty of University of Illinois, where she was the Richard W. and Maria L. Corman Scholar and where she had taught since 2001.
Susan Cancelosi is a professor who specializes in elder law and ERISA. She joins us from the University of Houston, where she was a Research Professor.
Steven Davidoff is a professor who specializes in corporate law. He joins us from practice in London, England, with the Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Sherman & Sterling law firms.
Lance Gable is a professor who specializes in health law. He joins us from Georgetown University, where he was a Professorial Lecturer.
Peggy Leibowitz is a visiting professor who specializes in labor law. A labor arbitrator, she has previously taught at Cornell, New York Law School, and Baruch College (CUNY).
Larry Mann rejoins us on a full-time basis in the fall semester. He has been on a leave of absence practicing with the Bowman & Brooke law firm, specializing in defense of product liability claims.
Tiki McCarthy is a legal research and writing instructor. She joins us from the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office, and she also is an alumnus of our Law School.
Dana Roach is a clinical professor who will be developing a Small Business Clinic. She joins us from University of Michigan, where she was a Visiting Professor.
Remco Van Rhee returns as a short-term visiting professor. A law professor at Maastrict University in the Netherlands, he has come twice before.
Please join me in welcoming all of our new and returning faculty.
This year’s hiring program is already well underway. Traditionally, it is the law faculty that plays the primary role in selecting new colleagues. Most faculty regard decisions about faculty hiring as among the most important decisions they make as professors and each such decision is considered with great care. An Appointments Committee, named by the Dean, interviews the candidates and makes recommendations to the tenured/tenure-track faculty. The faculty then must vote in favor of an appointment without “substantial opposition” in order for the Dean to extend an offer; this rule has been interpreted by prior deans as requiring a two-thirds supermajority. Neither the Dean nor the Associate Dean typically votes on whether to approve of a specific candidate.
The Chair of the Appointments Committee this year is Professor Jonathan Weinberg. The members are Professors Erica Beecher-Monas, John Dolan, Joan Mahoney, and, switching between them because of sabbaticals, Peter Hammer and C.J. Peters. I have asked them to emphasize the fields of ADR, civil procedure, criminal procedure, labor law, and family law, though they will consider promising candidates in other fields as well. I have also asked them to consider diversity, in a constitutionally permissible manner.
Most but not all entry-level hiring is done through the AALS Faculty Recruitment Conference, an annual event for which candidates register and where schools rent suites for two days of half-hour preliminary interviews. Lateral candidates, meaning individuals holding full-time positions in law teaching, typically contact the Law School, are referred to the Appointments Committee, or are sought out by the Appointments Committee based on recommendations from our current faculty. Academic positions are highly competitive. It is not unusual for attorneys holding the most prestigious jobs in day-to-day practice to be turned down for even a preliminary interview: senior partners at the top law firms, for example, are routinely passed over.
The continuing success of the Appointments Committee will ensure our positive future.
Friday, September 08, 2006
Enrichment Activities
Welcome again to both the new academic year and to our Law School. Fall on campus is always exciting, and it is one of the great pleasures of my role as your Dean to participate in the many enrichment activities that bring us together as a community. We have a wonderful series of events already planned, and I hope you will come to as many of them as possible. Although your primary responsibility as a student is to your formal coursework, your education is completed by informal extracurricular experiences.
An important book entitled Making the Most of College, written by Professor Richard J. Light following his extensive interviewing of undergraduates showed that “learning outside of classes, especially in residential settings and extracurricular activities such as the arts, is vital.” Indeed, most students identified as their most important experience one that occurred outside of classes. His findings extend to professional school. Of course, I trust you have the seriousness of purpose required for success in your legal studies as the beginning of your legal career. I urge you as well to become acquainted with a teacher by visiting him/her during office hours, form a study group that cultivates thoughtful discussion, and join one of the myriad student organizations. And I ask that you come at least once per semester to a lecture or a panel presentation or a debate with one of the many guests whom we are honored to host.
Aside from the intellectual benefit, our enrichment activities are an occasion for networking that advances your career and socializing that creates a sense of stakeholding. Our reputation is enhanced by these events, not only locally but nationally.
I've listed below the major activities that are coming up. We expect to introduce a web-based public calendar this academic year that will facilitate planning and publicity.
Thank you very much.
ENRICHMENT ACTIVITIES
September 12, 2006. History of Michigan Law symposium. The Law School is sponsoring, with the Ohio University Press, publisher of a series of books on the legal history of the former Northwest Territory, a symposium celebrating publication of the volume The History of Michigan Law. The lunch featuring adjunct professor David Chardavoyne is at noon in the Law School Faculty Lounge (please RSVP to Ms. Dortenzio at robind@wayne.edu); the panel discussion and reception begin at 6:30 pm in the Law School’s Partrich Auditorium, with a keynote at 8:30 pm by Professor Paul Finkelman, a noted legal historian specializing in race and civil rights, speaking on those topics with an emphasis on our state.
September 21, 2006. John Trasviña. The President of the Mexican American Legal Defense & Education Fund (MALDEF), John Trasviña, will deliver a public address on “Legal Issues Facing Latinos and America’s Future,” at 7:00 pm in the Law School’s Partrich Auditorium.
September 27-29, 2006. Scholar in Residence Kimberle Crenshaw. Professor Kimberle Crenshaw, of UCLA and Columbia and a founder of the Critical Race Theory movement, will come to the Law School as a short-term academic visitor sponsored by the Izumi Family Fund. The main public event is an address on “Ten Myths About Affirmative Action,” at 7:00 pm, September 28, in the Law School’s Partrich Auditorium. Faculty and graduate students in all fields are invited to an informal lunch with Professor Crenshaw, 12:15 pm, September 29, in the Law School Faculty Lounge; please RSVP to Ms. Teryn Kennedy of the Dean's Suite, terynkennedy@wayne.edu.
October 12, 2006. 14th Annual Bernard Gottfried Memorial Labor Law Symposium. This day-long conference, co-sponsored with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and the State Bar of Michigan Labor and Employment Section, honors the late Director of the NLRB Region Seven, who also taught as an Adjunct Professor here for many years.
October 12, 2006. The 3rd Biennial Damon J. Keith Lecture. Professor Derrick Bell will be the featured speaker for this major event, sponsored by the Damon J. Keith Collection in African-American Legal History. Professor Bell, from NYU Law School and author of numerous critically-acclaimed books, will speak on “The Civil Rights Lawyer’s Role in a Time of Mortal Crisis,” at 6:30 pm in the Law School’s Partrich Auditorium; reception to begin at 6:00 pm.
November 9, 2006. Symposium on the Economic Loss Doctrine. This event will feature a panel discussion on the economic loss doctrine. Details are forthcoming.
November 16, 2006. Law Review Symposium. This day-long event, an annual tradition of the Wayne Law Review, will consider the “War on Terrorism.” Details are forthcoming.
