David, in reading your section on Dean Gerken, it’s difficult to avoid the conclusion that she places her own self-interest (her reappointment) over boldly securing the diverse academic aims of the institution as enunciated by Professor Amar, among others. If true, some might say this would disqualify her from reappointment. What am I missing?
There are certainly folks who see the situation as you do, Peter. Here are some of the issues:
1. What did Dean Gerken know, and when did she know it?
It’s not clear that she was personally aware of everything that Eldik and Cosgrove were up to. For example, the email condemning Trent’s party invitation as “racist” didn’t come from and wasn’t signed by her, and she wasn’t in any of the initial, problematic meetings.
2. If she didn’t know of all the shenanigans, to what degree should she be held accountable?
On the one hand, “the buck stops with her.” On the other hand, she can’t be involved with every situation at YLS. (As the former head of a global law firm, you can probably relate.)
3. What is the standard for renewing a dean?
My understanding is that it is, um, fairly relaxed, with a strong presumption in favor of retention.
4. Can anyone do the job better?
Being the dean of YLS, which is full of very smart, very opinionated students and faculty, is a thankless task. Yale’s deans tend to come from within, and most YLS profs prefer to focus on their scholarship, not administration. When Gerken sought the deanship originally, there was just one other serious contender, John Witt (and I don’t know whether he’s still interested).
So my prediction is that Dean Gerken will be reappointed, thanks in part to some of the practical considerations outlined here (as well as some political ones that are hard to address in this brief comment).
The model prior to Dean Gerken’s appointment seems to have been to select a YLS Dean with towering scholarly credentials. Going back six decades: Eugene Rostow, Louis Pollak, Abraham Goldstein, Harry Wellington, Guido Calabresi, Anthony Kronman, Harold Koh, Robert Post. Perhaps such a Dean would appreciate the value of intellectual diversity within the YLS community more than (from outward appearances) the current administration does. Because my YLS career spanned six years (I took a few off after my first year) my contemporaries included Bill Clinton, Hillary Rodham, Richard Blumenthal, Robert Reich, Clarence Thomas, Sam Alito, Sonia Sotomayor and others of diverse intellectual and political viewpoints. The publicity surrounding the current YLS debacle (as well as others) may extinguish such viewpoint diversity in the student body going forward. An outcome, by the way, that some in the YLS community may welcome but I and others would not.
I really liked the article but I am disappointed that Mr. Austin didn't record his conversation like Mr. Colbert did so that there was an unambiguous record of what occurred in the meeting.
Responding to your footnote (4) may I suggest that intellectual diversity should not be determined ideologically, i.e. "conservative" or "libertarian". Such partisan distinctions have become so fraught that our system of justice seems to be losing its way. A much more interesting form of intellectual diversity would focus on distinct theories of law and jurisprudence.
Anyone who is curious about a taxonomy of such legal theories may enjoy the excellent book by Peter Suber, The Case of the Speluncean Explorers, Nine New Opinions.
David, in reading your section on Dean Gerken, it’s difficult to avoid the conclusion that she places her own self-interest (her reappointment) over boldly securing the diverse academic aims of the institution as enunciated by Professor Amar, among others. If true, some might say this would disqualify her from reappointment. What am I missing?
There are certainly folks who see the situation as you do, Peter. Here are some of the issues:
1. What did Dean Gerken know, and when did she know it?
It’s not clear that she was personally aware of everything that Eldik and Cosgrove were up to. For example, the email condemning Trent’s party invitation as “racist” didn’t come from and wasn’t signed by her, and she wasn’t in any of the initial, problematic meetings.
2. If she didn’t know of all the shenanigans, to what degree should she be held accountable?
On the one hand, “the buck stops with her.” On the other hand, she can’t be involved with every situation at YLS. (As the former head of a global law firm, you can probably relate.)
3. What is the standard for renewing a dean?
My understanding is that it is, um, fairly relaxed, with a strong presumption in favor of retention.
4. Can anyone do the job better?
Being the dean of YLS, which is full of very smart, very opinionated students and faculty, is a thankless task. Yale’s deans tend to come from within, and most YLS profs prefer to focus on their scholarship, not administration. When Gerken sought the deanship originally, there was just one other serious contender, John Witt (and I don’t know whether he’s still interested).
So my prediction is that Dean Gerken will be reappointed, thanks in part to some of the practical considerations outlined here (as well as some political ones that are hard to address in this brief comment).
The model prior to Dean Gerken’s appointment seems to have been to select a YLS Dean with towering scholarly credentials. Going back six decades: Eugene Rostow, Louis Pollak, Abraham Goldstein, Harry Wellington, Guido Calabresi, Anthony Kronman, Harold Koh, Robert Post. Perhaps such a Dean would appreciate the value of intellectual diversity within the YLS community more than (from outward appearances) the current administration does. Because my YLS career spanned six years (I took a few off after my first year) my contemporaries included Bill Clinton, Hillary Rodham, Richard Blumenthal, Robert Reich, Clarence Thomas, Sam Alito, Sonia Sotomayor and others of diverse intellectual and political viewpoints. The publicity surrounding the current YLS debacle (as well as others) may extinguish such viewpoint diversity in the student body going forward. An outcome, by the way, that some in the YLS community may welcome but I and others would not.
I really liked the article but I am disappointed that Mr. Austin didn't record his conversation like Mr. Colbert did so that there was an unambiguous record of what occurred in the meeting.
Responding to your footnote (4) may I suggest that intellectual diversity should not be determined ideologically, i.e. "conservative" or "libertarian". Such partisan distinctions have become so fraught that our system of justice seems to be losing its way. A much more interesting form of intellectual diversity would focus on distinct theories of law and jurisprudence.
Anyone who is curious about a taxonomy of such legal theories may enjoy the excellent book by Peter Suber, The Case of the Speluncean Explorers, Nine New Opinions.