DeanWuBlog

Development Director

I am pleased to announce that Ms. Mary L. Hollens will be serving as Director of Development. Following an extensive search over the past 5 months, with the input of the Law School, the central Advancement Office selected Ms. Hollens for this important role. A graduate of Columbia State University, Hollens has also attended Wayne State University. She has worked as Director of Development for the Wayne State University Nursing School for the past five and a half years. She successfully increased annual giving from the low six figures to more than $1 million during that time. She just organized a wonderful Lifelines Award dinner honoring the late Dr. Rachel Boone Keith, wife of the Honorable Damon J. Keith, attracting hundreds to support an effort to name part of the Nursing School for Dr. Keith. Please join me in welcoming Ms. Hollens, who begins service on October 1, 2007.

President Irvin D. Reid

As you know, President Irvin D. Reid has announced his resignation effective at the end of the academic year. He has been an inspiring leader of Wayne State University. He has had vision and an ability to realize that vision. He transformed the campus, while making the institution a catalyst for economic growth in the area and throughout the city. He has been a phenomenal fundraiser. He also has established good relationships between the administration and the faculty. His example is admirable.

What Matters

Yesterday afternoon I visited a former employee who is in the hospital. It is my duty as Dean to perform such tasks. When I do so I am reminded of how important it is for those of us who are honored to hold leadership roles to do more than give speeches and make appearances at celebrations and ceremonies; it is equally important for all of us, as human beings who wish to belong to a community, to be there during times of crisis and need. The person whom I visited faces challenges that are as serious as possible. He was an integral part of the Law School and was a wonderfully engaging presence during his time here. In my brief visit to express the support of the institution, I said I would return to check on his progress, and I recognize that I must fulfill this pledge for it is these moments that remind one of what matters in life.

Personal

As you know, at the conclusion of this academic year I will be ending my service as Dean. Due to my wife’s health issues, I will be returning to Washington, D.C. In the 2008-09 academic year, I expect to serve as a Visiting Professor at University of Maryland and George Washington University.

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.

Adversaries

Perhaps the most difficult aspect of training people in the art of advocacy is cultivating the ability to argue to a decision-maker rather than to argue with that person. An advocate serves her cause best, however, when she understands how to present the case to the court and the public. Even in an adversarial system, doing so requires respect for the authority of the officials entrusted with the matter. Engaging effectively with one’s adversary also doesn’t require hostility toward her. As Tranio said in Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew, “And do as adversaries do in law – strive mightily, but eat and drink as friends.” (More)

Gas Leak

I write concerning the recent gas leak on campus. I encourage everyone to sign up for the new Wayne State University broadcast messaging system to ensure receipt of emergency alerts. (See http://computing.wayne.edu/messaging/broadcast.php). The gas leak affected a number of buildings on campus, but it posed no risk to the Law School or our students. The broadcast messaging system was used to send notices via email and IM, but the cell phone aspect of the system is not yet fully functional. We take seriously the need to advise students of issues that may affect their safety.

The public safety, physical plant, and other relevant services of Wayne State University that address issues of this nature are coordinated through the central administration. Likewise, the broadcast messaging system is maintained by the central administration. The Law School, as part of the Wayne State University, relies on the broadcast messaging system.

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. The SBG also participates in faculty meetings.

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.

Accomplishments

It has been wonderful returning to my hometown of Detroit to serve as Dean of Wayne State University Law School. As I prepare for a final year of service, I thought I would write to you about the positive developments that have transformed the institution during my tenure.

Most importantly, we continue to welcome a talented and diverse group of students. Following passage of Proposal 2, the faculty deliberated the issue of admissions and unanimously adopted a new policy. With the dual goals of ensuring we remain true to a mission of offering access to higher education and the justice system as well as complying with the mandate of the law, we consider not only an applicant's standardized test scores and undergraduate grades as predictors of success in the J.D. program but also his/her entire background.

Yet it also is crucial to support our students as they enter the profession. Our Dean's Scholars program, which provides 50% to 100% tuition for up to three years, has allowed us to recruit approximately 30 individuals each year whose academic credentials are, on average, the highest in our history. The new Ziemba Scholars program, endowed by the largest single gift ever made for the benefit of our students, will support those pursuing public interest careers. The generosity of the late Carl Ziemba (class of 1948) is matched by his distinguished career in appellate litigation. His gift of more than $3 million will establish an independent trust that is expected to award at least $150,000 per year to deserving individuals.

Our faculty has become stronger, too. During the past three years, we have hired 10 new tenured/tenure-track faculty, in areas ranging from corporate and tax to health policy and intellectual property to family law and international law, along with a new clinical professor, new legal research and writing instructor, and two visiting professors. Their expertise enhances the educational experience as well as our national reputation.

The design process has begun for the new Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights. With $16 million raised in the Wayne First capital campaign toward a $30 million goal, we look forward to groundbreaking for an addition that will symbolize in bricks and mortar our place as a top public urban law school. Named for our LL.M. alumnus, the Honorable Damon J. Keith, a jurist and civic leader of outstanding reputation both in Detroit and throughout the nation, the Center will be one of only a handful of such programs in the United States. Our students, along with the bench and the bar and the community at large, will benefit from the substantive programming offered by the Center. Just this summer, we announced the endowment of the Damon J. Keith Visiting Professor position. Thanks to the generosity of donors who share Judge Keith's commitment to equality before the law, a different scholar will come each year to present an advanced course on the subject.

Meanwhile, our graduates continue to dominate the bench and the bar in the Detroit metropolitan area and throughout the state of Michigan. The latest survey of alumni shows that 90% of the class of 2006 is employed or continuing their education on a full-time basis.

In this context, I would like to ensure you are aware of our error – for which I take personal responsibility – in preparing employment data for the class of 2005, which was used for the last US News survey. We used a survey instrument that did not correspond to the NALP and ABA standards, and we also did not perform enough follow-up. As a consequence, our employment rates appeared much lower than they certainly were in fact, based on prior years and for the class 2006. Our ranking thus was affected adversely. We trust that those familiar with our academic strengths will understand that the ranking does not accurately reflect those strengths.

As you know, we have announced a dean search. If you or those whom you know are interested in this opportunity, please encourage them to apply; the website for the search is http://www.law.wayne.edu/Faculty/Dean_Search_Committee%20.html. I look forward to continuing to work together to address higher education policy issues. Best wishes.