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Dean Search Committee Names Finalists: Four out of Five are Women
By Anonymous • February 08, 2009 •Legal Academia
Four out five of finalists to serve as the next Dean of the University of Maryland School of Law are women. The finalists include Wendy Collins Perdue, Phoebe A. Haddon, Linda S. Mullenix, Leah Ward Sears, and Mark A. Sargent. After 10 years of service, the Law School's current dean, Karen H. Rothenberg, will step down at the end of the current academic year. Click here for more information on these remarkable finalists.
Peggy Cooper Davis: Most Influential Woman in Legal Education
By Anonymous • January 19, 2009 •Legal Academia
The National Jurist Magazine named Peggy Cooper Davis one of The Most Influential People in Legal Education this month. Dean David Van Zandt and Professor Frederick Schauer joined Professor Davis in receiving the honor. Peggy Cooper Davis is a Professor of Lawyering and Ethics at New York University School of Law. She is also the Director of the widely-acclaimed Lawyering Program at NYU. Working through the Lawyering Program, and through related interdisciplinary seminars and colloquia, Professor Davis strives to revolutionize legal education so that it systematically addresses the interpretive, interactive, ethical and social dimensions of professional practice. Prior to joining…
Off Track in Academia
By Peg Johnston • June 13, 2008 •Legal Academia
While I can't pretend to be in the know about the gender politics of legal academia, an interesting study was brought to my attention by the FeministLawProfs today. The study, the largest of its kind, found that"[Women academics] are deeply frustrated by a system that they believe undervalues their work and denies them opportunities for a balanced life. While the study found some overt discrimination in the form of harassment or explicitly sexist remarks, many of the concerns involved more subtle “deeply entrenched inequities."Even as somebody who is not involved in academia, I have always been keenly aware of the…
Preventing Violence Against Law Profs
By Anna Nelson • February 09, 2008 •Legal Academia
Tracy McGaugh at Feminist Law Profs reviews a piece coauthored by Carol Parker, U. Tennessee-Knoxville College of Law: "Anger and Violence on Campus: Recommendations for Legal Educators." In the wake of the latest university shooting--at Northern Illinois U last week--Parker's recommendations feel especially timely. The article, which is publicly available on the Social Science Research Network (SSRN), outlines predictors of violent behavior and policies for violence prevention. Most of the policies require enactment by school administrations--these aren't risks that profs can manage entirely on their own. The article, McGaugh explains, touches on the almost-taboo topic of junior faculty members who…
Wow! Great insight into Choices and Consequences Written by a Mother/Professor
By Peg Johnston • December 03, 2007 •Legal Academia
All I can say is "wow". There is an incredible post titled "Choices, Consequences, Constraints" up on Scatter from this weekend. Click here to read it in its entirety, which I strongly recommend if you are at all interested in some perspective on what it can be like to be a mom and an academic at the same time. The blogger writes about some of her choices and related emotions in her struggle to be a professional woman and a parent in a situation where both she and her husband worked. The post is gripping in its honesty and at…
Scary Numbers on Women in Academia
By jessie kornberg • November 25, 2007 •Legal Academia
Ann Farmer's new research on legal academic hiring puts a new twist on the disturbing news reported earlier this week that universities are generally creating fewer tenured professorships.For the 2004–2005 academic year, women comprised25% of tenured full professors46% of tenure-track assistant professors66% of lecturers and instructors54% of associate deans without professional titles68% of assistant deans without professional titlesAs a person interested in possibly pursuing a career in academia, these numbers are troubling. There are already fewer tenure spots opening up-instead aspiring professors are being shuffled into part-time and non-tenured positions. And now it seems that women are experiencing this shuffle…
Suspended UConn law prof will return to work, but will not be allowed to teach feminist legal theory [Clippings]
By Anna Nelson • October 23, 2007 •Legal Academia
Two weeks ago when law prof Robert Birmingham showed a clip from a documentary that contained an image of a scantily clad woman, he was asked to take an immediate leave of absence from the UConn School of Law. Now comes word that Birmingham will return to teaching in the spring--but he won't be allowed to teach his course in feminist legal theory that had been previously scheduled.Read the original news of his suspension here and the follow-up about his return here [via law.com]. What do you think? Does the sanction fit the crime? Was there any crime?