The Faculty Lounge

Bing Crosby (and Friends)

Dated, but still interesting:

Hiring Announcement: Stanford Constitutional Law Center

From an email message that I received earlier this week:

Executive Director, Constitutional Law, Stanford Law School

About the Center: 

The Stanford Constitutional Law Center grows out of a long tradition of constitutional law scholarship at Stanford Law School, and supports programs and research about the Constitution. The Center has no politics and takes no sides on controversial cases—but it is committed to the rule of law and the idea that the Constitution can be studied and interpreted objectively in light of its text, history, and purposes. It advances this mission through events and activities that foster scholarship, generate public discussion, and provide opportunities for students and scholars to engage in analysis of the Constitution across the ideological spectrum. 

Job Description: 

The Executive Director for the Stanford Constitutional Law Center, a full-time position, will serve as the chief staff person for the center, collaborating with and reporting to the Faculty Director (Professor Michael McConnell) in conceptualizing and implementing the goals of the Center. The Executive Director will be responsible for planning, administering and executing the Center's activities, and to produce legal scholarship. 

As an administrator, the Executive Director works closely with the faculty director to lead the strategic planning for the center, oversees the Center’s academic programming and fellowship programs, and plays a role in managing the Center’s financial development. The Center hosts approximately a dozen of events each calendar year, some of them including up to forty guests. The Executive Director coordinates with Stanford faculty, Stanford programming staff, and guests to be sure that the content of the programming is of the highest quality, and that the programs run smoothly. The Executive Director also provides administrative guidance, career counseling, and academic assistance for the Stanford Constitutional Law Fellows and Bradley Student Fellows. Finally, the Executive Director promotes and represents the Center’s visibility to the broader university, external community and other stakeholders by managing the Center's external relations and online presence, and assists in managing the Center’s finances.

In addition, the Executive Director produces legal scholarship and participates fully in the academic life of the law school. Normally the Executive Director will pursue a career in the legal academy as a law professor. The length of the Executive Director’s time at Stanford will depend on the time necessary for the Executive Director to prepare for the academic job market. The Executive Director will typically serve for 2-3 academic years, therefore this position is a fixed-term position for an initial 2 years, with the option to extend for a maximum of 3 years (at the discretion of the Law School). 

Job duties will include: 

• Develop, plan, and administer major academic conferences, lectures, and workshops. This may include identifying topics and speakers for public events, engaging in collaborative programming across the law school, and participating in special projects.
• Represent the Center to the broader University, external community, and other stakeholders.  Create and manage content of the Center website and related publications, including reports, proposals, policy briefings, brochures, and newsletters. 
• Work co-operatively with other law school Centers and Programs to advance the educational and research mission of the law school and Stanford University.
• Managing the budget for the Center, including forecasting and reporting on all activities and financial issues from year to year. 

Qualifications: 

• JD required.  Strong potential for success as a legal scholar, including an outstanding academic record, teaching experience, strong recommendations from established legal scholars, one or more post-law school academic publication, practice experience in constitutional law, and a clear and interesting academic agenda
• Strong interpersonal skills, including the ability to communicate effectively and respectfully in writing and orally with faculty, staff, and students
• Strong managerial skills, including the ability to organize events, prioritize tasks, and meet deadlines
• Strong commitment to studying and teaching law, and mentoring students and fellows
• Strong commitment to advancing the center's profile and effectiveness
• Passion for conceiving, analyzing, critiquing, and developing all kinds of ideas
• Experience managing a budget and developing financial plans. 

*Consistent with its obligations under the law, the University will provide reasonable accommodation to any employee with a disability who requires accommodation to perform the essential functions of the job.

How to apply: All interested and qualified applicants must submit their resume and a cover letter via the Stanford Jobs website (http://m.rfer.us/STANFORDDtR4hS). Your cover letter should describe your interest in legal scholarship in general and this position in particular. Applications will be accepted until February 28, and will be considered on a rolling basis.

Additional Information

Stanford University is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Stanford Law School seeks to hire the best talent and to promote a safe and secure environment for all members of the university community and its property. To that end, new staff hires must successfully pass a background check prior to starting work at Stanford University.

Blake Morant Stepping Down as Dean of GW Law

After a very successful pair of deanships - first at Wake Forest Law and then at George Washington Law - Dean Blake Morant is stepping down.  This story gives some highlights of his GW run, but I don't care about those successes nearly as much as the fact that Blake is an incredibly kind and generous human being.  It will be loss to the dean's community, and GW's leadership, but a tremendous gain for those students who can now take advantage of so much more of his time.  

Texas Tech Seeks Associate Dean and Director of Law Library

From colleagues at Texas Tech:

Texas Tech University School of Law invites applications for Associate Dean and Director of the Law Library. The Associate Dean and Director is a fully engaged member of the Law School community and the principal architect of the Library’s engagement within the Law School. The Associate Dean and Director serves as the Law Library chief administrative officer, ensuring broad and deep support of the research, educational, and information needs of the faculty, students, and staff at Texas Tech University School of Law. The Associate Dean and Director is also a tenure-track faculty position in the School of Law, with rank to be determined commensurate with experience.

The Law Library’s primary mission is to support the curricular and scholarly activities of the faculty and students at the Law School. The Library has 5 full-time professional librarians (including the Director) and 6 full-time and 1 part-time support staff members. The 47,000 square foot library houses a collection that includes 780,000 volumes and equivalents and 640,000 titles.

The Associate Dean and Director has broad responsibility for managing all aspects of the operation of the Law Library including: collection development and management; personnel management; supervising implementation and maintenance of library technology; advising the Dean on the Library budget and implementing the budget once approved; and instituting new procedures as conditions warrant. The Associate Dean and Director is responsible, in collaboration with the Dean and faculty, for establishing and implementing both technological and traditional methods of information to support the research and curricular needs of faculty and students. The Associate Dean and Director also manages the physical space of the library to preserve and enhance its central role in the life of the Law School.

Candidates must have a JD degree from an ABA approved law school and an MLS or equivalent degree from an ALA-accredited institution plus substantial experience in library administration with at least seven years of progressively responsible experience working in a law library. Candidates must demonstrate the ability to manage a complex organization, including planning, goal-setting, budget and financial management, and supervisory and human relations skills; an understanding of the innovative and enhanced role law libraries play in legal education; a history of outstanding service to all parts of a law school; the ability to work in a collaborative environment that fosters cross-departmental endeavors to advance the goals of the Law School. Preferred candidates will have a strong record of scholarship, as well as experience building and delivering courses and strong records as teachers. Experience working with diverse student populations and first-generation students is highly desirable.

Texas Tech University, located in Lubbock, Texas, is a state-supported National Research University with an enrollment that exceeds 38,000 students. The law school has approximately 445 students and 42 full-time faculty members. The law school is an integral part of the University and offers 10 dual-degree programs with other Texas Tech schools and colleges. The Lubbock metropolitan area is home to almost 300,000 people, enjoys affordable housing, abundant sunshine, friendly people, and offers easy access to other parts of the country. For more information, visit our website at www.law.ttu.edu.

As an Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer, Texas Tech University is dedicated to the goal of building a culturally diverse faculty committed to teaching and working in a multicultural environment. We actively encourage applications from all those who can contribute, through their research, teaching, and/or service, to the diversity and excellence of the academic community at Texas Tech University. The university welcomes applications from minorities, women, protected veterans, persons with disabilities, and dual-career couples.

Please submit your cover letter, resume, and contact information for three professional references electronically to the attention of the chair of the Personnel Committee, Professor Stephen Black, at the Texas Tech Jobs website careers.texastech.edu, or at www.workattexastech.com. Please reference Requisition Number 16466BR. You may contact Professor Black directly at stephen.black@ttu.edu. Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until March 8, 2019.

Jenny Martinez Named Dean of Stanford Law

Stanford Law professor Jenny Martinez has been named the school's new dean.  She succeeds Elizabeth Magill who is moving to UVa to be its provost.  Martinez is a Harvard Law grad and joined the Stanford faculty in 2003.  

Misguided Anti-BDS Lawsuit Dismissed

In 2016, a group of then current and former members of the American Studies Association filed a lawsuit attempting to undo the ASA's Israel boycott resolution (which had been enacted in 2012). Based on a theory first advanced by my former colleague Eugene Kontorovich, the complaint alleged that the boycott resolution was ultra vires in that it violated the ASA's apolitical charter and bylaws. As I explained -- here and here -- this effort was seriously misguided from the outset. Here is what I wrote when the case was first filed:

Although I am strongly opposed to academic boycotts, I believe that the lawsuit is wrong legally, strategically, and politically.

Legally.  The main argument in the lawsuit is that the ASA resolution was ultra vires, in that it was not authorized by the relevant provision of the organization’s constitution.  Article I, § 2 of the ASA constitution, however, states that,

The object of the association shall be the promotion of the study of American culture through the encouragement of research, teaching, publication, the strengthening of relations among persons and institutions in this country and abroad devoted to such studies, and the broadening of knowledge among the general public about American culture in all its diversity and complexity. (emphasis added)

Proponents of the resolution will therefore be able to argue that the boycott will strengthen relations with institutions in many more countries than it will restrict.  And though I personally disagree strongly with that position, it is hard to imagine that a court will want to second-guess the organization about the relative importance of its external relationships.

Strategically.  It is an unfortunate fact that the leadership of the ASA has become dominated by BDS advocates, and that the membership voted strongly for the boycott resolution.  Even if the lawsuit were successful on ultra vires or procedural grounds, the ASA could quickly remedy the defects, either via constitutional amendment or re-voting.  The result would simply be another debate and another boycott resolution.  The more likely outcome, however, is that the lawsuit will be dismissed, which of course will be seen as a reaffirmation of the BDS resolution.

Politically.  Lawsuits such as this one simply reinforce the claim that friends of Israel want to squelch public debate.  Like it or not, the ASA has chosen to take a public position on Israel, supported by a clear majority of its voting members.  Overturning the vote through legal action would be broadly seen as anti-democratic.

The ASA boycott of Israel is discriminatory, hypocritical, and anti-intellectual.  The politicization of an academic association is badly misguided.  Nonetheless, the way to oppose BDS is through principled argument, not judicial intervention. 

Defense motions, raising both technical and constitutional issues, began chipping away at the lawsuit almost from the beginning, leading to multiple amended complaints. For some reason, however, plaintiffs and their counsel never saw the writing on the wall. Even when Judge Rudolph Contreras gutted their case in March 2017 -- dismissing the most meaningful counts -- they claimed it as a victory, because a few minor counts were allowed to stand.

Now, however, Judge Contreras has fully dismissed remaining counts, holding that the plaintiffs cannot allege the amount of damages necessary for diversity jurisdiction in U.S. District Court. Although it would be possible for the plaintiffs to refile their damages case in the local D.C. trial court, let's hope that this very bad idea has finally run its course.

Dean Finalists at Cincinnati Law

They are: 

Verna Williams (Cincinnati), Karen Bravo (Indiana-Indianapolis), Kenneth Vandevelde (Thomas Jefferson), and Geoffrey Rapp (Toledo).  

Judge Ronald Longstaff

I recently wrote an article on the life and career of Judge Ronald Longstaff, a highly regarded federal judge in Iowa. The article is titled “Common Sense and Compassion: A Judicial Biography of Ronald Longstaff” and it was published last fall by the Drake Law Review. Here is the abstract:

For over four decades Ronald Earl Longstaff served the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa, first as a federal magistrate and then as an Article III federal judge. Longstaff’s professional life provides a unique window into the Iowa bench and bar from the 1960s to the 2000s. Over the course of his career, Longstaff heard a remarkably diverse range of cases, from civil rights actions to commercial disputes to murder trials. A highly respected and admired judge, Longstaff exemplified the two qualities he viewed as central to judicial service: compassion and common sense.

Judge Longstaff’s life is also a story of perseverance and triumph over adversity. As a child in Pittsburg, Kansas, he was diagnosed with cerebral palsy. The treating physicians advised Longstaff’s parents to institutionalize him, a common practice in the 1940s for children with cerebral palsy. But to Ronald Longstaff’s good fortune, his parents ignored the doctors’ advice. The Longstaffs’ decision to keep their son in school made it possible for him to achieve his full potential, which eventually included decades of service as a distinguished federal judge.

As part of the project, I did a number of interviews with Judge Longstaff at his home in West Des Moines. It was an absolute pleasure to get to know him. Dick Lyford, the president of the Historical Society for the Southern District of Iowa, joined me for all of the interviews and provided invaluable assistance to me. Dick also arranged for a court reporter to transcribe the interviews. 

If you are interested, here is a link to the full article.