The Faculty Lounge

Bi+ Visibility Day and Marjorie Rowland

In honor of today being Celebrate Bisexuality Day (aka Bi+ Visibility Day or Bi Visibility Day), I thought I would post about bisexual rights pioneer Marjorie Rowland, who sued way back in 1975 when she was suspended and then faced nonrenewal of of her contract as a school guidance counselor because she had acknoweledged her bisexuality to a school secretary. Although she first had to appeal dismissal of her case to the Sixth Circuit, she ultimately won a jury verdict based on her equal protection and First Amendment claims, only to have it cursorily reversed by the Sixth Circuit. The Supreme Court denied review, over a powerful dissent by Justice Brennan, and Ms. Rowland, who had enrolled in and graduated from law school during the pendency of the case, was left to deal with the considerable fall-out from the case, including an apparently retaliatory charge of welfare fraud and an initial denial of her moral character application to the Arizona Bar. Ms. Rowland, however, persevered and ultimately had a successful family law and bankruptcy practice in Tucson for decades. 

My article about the case, forthcoming in Harvard Journal of Law and Gender, brings to light little-known facts gleaned from the trial transcript, explores the flaws in the Sixth Circuit opinion, and also argues that part of the reason that Ms. Rowland's case, Rowland v. Mad River Local School District, did not receive the attention it deserved in scholarship and case law was likely bisexual erasure. The article looks at areas where bisexual erasure continues to be prevalent, including the relatively scant coverage of bisexuality in Law & Sexuality textbooks, and briefly touches on how far we have come--and in some areas, how little progress has been made--since Ms. Rowland brought her case. Remarkably (or perhaps not at all remarkably, given the times we're in), a very similar case brought by a Kentucky choral teacher who was fired based on disclosing his bisexuality on his Instagram account is pending today.  

Happy Celebrate Bisexuality Day!

Like a Rolling Stone

"Like a Rolling Stone" is literally a song that needs no introduction, but here is a short one nonetheless. It is beyond question one of the greatest rock songs ever recorded. Rolling Stone (the magazine) ranked it number one in both 2004 and 2010, although it fell to number four in 2021. Other rankings -- by the Guardian, Pitchfork, Uncut, and others -- have had it between first and fourth. I doubt that any serious Rock music critic would list it out of the top five of all time. Of course, these rankings are all kind of silly, given the breadth of the music and varying tastes, so please just enjoy the music.

CFP: Workshop on Feminist Approaches to State and Governance.

A Workshop on Feminist Approaches to State and Governance

Emory University School of Law

Vulnerability and the Human Condition Initiative

Hybrid Workshop (in-person and virtual option)

December 15-16, 2023

 

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Feminism and Legal Theory Project (FLT). During that time, FLT has held workshops, hosted visitors, and sought to encourage and facilitate feminist analyses of law and institutions.

For this session, FLT seeks working papers exploring what a feminist legal theory approach to the State or the process of governance should entail.

 

The full call for papers and submission procedures are available here. The deadline for submissions is Friday, October 27, 2023.

 

Craig Boise Stepping Down as Dean of Syracuse Law

Syracuse College of Law has announced that Craig Boise will step down as dean at the end of the 2023-2024 academic year.  Boise became dean at Syracuse in 2016 and previously served as dean of Cleveland State's Cleveland-Marshall College of Law.  He will return to the faculty after a sabbatical. 

In Memoriam: JoAnne Epps

I've just learned the incredibly sad news that Temple University Acting President JoAnne Epps has passed away. She was a member of Temple's law faculty and served as dean of the law school from 2008 to 2016 and provost from 2016 to 2021.

2023 Promoting Diversity in Law School Leadership Workshop

This just in:

The Promoting Diversity in Law School Leadership Workshop will be held on October 13 and 14.    Since 2018, Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law and Seattle University School of Law have partnered for the “Promoting Diversity in Law School Leadership Workshop.” This year, the workshop is hosted by Loyola University Chicago School of Law and DePaul College of Law. The workshop is designed to encourage and assist members of underrepresented groups to pursue deanships and other leadership positions.  The two-day workshop will feature sessions led by law school deans from around the country. It takes place on Friday, October 13 and Saturday, October 14 at the Corboy Law Center, Loyola University Chicago. Please note, registration is required.

Register and find more details here. 

Hiring Announcement: University of Ottawa

From a recent email message:

The University of Ottawa, faculty of law (common law section) will be hiring three entry level professors in our English program, and 1 in our Program de Common Law Français.

Details are available here:

https://www.uottawa.ca/faculty-law/common-law/about/faculty-recruitment

https://www.uottawa.ca/faculte-droit/common-law/a-propos/recrutement-facultaire

 

UDC Seeking a Visitor to Teach Contracts and Bus. Orgs.

The University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law seeks a visiting professor to teach Contracts II (UCC Art. II, etc.) and Business Organizations in the Spring semester of 2024. Applications are encouraged from women, candidates of color, LGBTQIA+ candidates, disabled candidates, and others whose background and experience would contribute to the diversity of the law school community.

 

UDC Law is the District of Columbia’s only public law school and is one of only six American Bar Association approved law schools at a Historically Black College or University. UDC Law has a statutory mission to recruit and enroll students from groups traditionally underrepresented at the bar; to provide a well-rounded theoretical and practical legal education that will enable students to be effective and ethical advocates; and to represent the legal needs of low-income residents through the School’s legal clinics.

 

With questions or to express interest, please contact UDC Law Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Matt Fraidin at [email protected]. 

Hiring Announcement: City University of New York (CUNY) School of Law

From a recent email message:

The City University of New York (CUNY) School of Law seeks tenure track or lateral candidates to teach in one of the following areas: Criminal Law, Torts, and Evidence, as well as in CUNY School of Law’s clinical program, specifically the Defenders (criminal defense) clinic. The Defenders Clinic seeks candidates with substantial trial and appellate level public defender experience, with a specific focus working on behalf of people serving life and long-term sentences in pursuit of gubernatorial clemency, parole, and/or resentencing. 

Appointments are to begin no later than Fall 2024. Applications will be accepted until October 15, 2023.

CUNY School of Law is a national leader in progressive legal education, being top-ranked for public interest law and for clinical programs. CUNY is also the most diverse law school in the nation and has both a three-year full-time day program and a four-year part-time evening program.

CUNY School of Law’s mission is two-fold: training public interest attorneys to practice law in the service of human needs, and providing access to the profession for members of historically underrepresented communities.

The primary responsibility of each hire will be to teach law students in the courses and clinics stated above, along with other courses as part of a course package. Candidates must have backgrounds representing, or scholarship related to, the topics in which they seek to teach. In dialogue with the Academic Dean, all faculty at CUNY School of Law are expected to teach other subjects as needed, including required first-year Lawyering Seminars on a rotating basis, and are expected to teach in both the day and evening programs on a rotating basis.

Full details on the positions can be found here, as Job ID 27156.  Please note that all candidates must go through the application process as detailed on the page in order to be considered. From our job posting system, select "Apply Now", create or log in to a user account, and provide the requested information. For any questions, please contact [email protected].