Dean Davis has sent this email to the law students at Ole Miss law school:
This year marks the last year of my third term as Dean of the School of Law. After much reflection and discussion with both the Chancellor and the Provost, I have decided that this year will be my last year as Dean. Therefore, I will be stepping down as Dean as of June 30, 2010.
It has been a privilege and an honor for me to serve as Dean for the last twelve and a half years. The Law School is a much better place that it was in July 1997 when I began my service as Dean. I will not repeat all of the accomplishments that I summarized in my recent statement, but I will add that I did not accomplish all of them alone. Together, with faculty, staff, students, and alumni, we have improved considerably by any objective measure. I thank all of you for your contributions to the betterment of the Law School.
I am not going anywhere. I expect to return to full-time teaching, perhaps following a period of sabbatical leave, to work on some research projects. I love this Law School. I love Ole Miss. I love Oxford. This is my home. I will continue to do all that I can to advance the development of the Law School as an institution.
There will be time for formal farewells later. But in the meantime, I wanted to let you know of my decision and to express my thanks toall of you for allowing me this wonderful opportunity to serve.
Samuel M. Davis
December 1, 2009
Dean Davis has performed in an exemplary manner, and I wish him the best. May his successor have similar success. Thank you, Dean Davis.
Bah.
Not happy with this news.
The students generally aren’t happy to hear it, either. The rumor mill at the law school is up and spinning, as one would expect. I don’t care to elaborate, or to comment on events of which I have no first-hand knowledge.
I wish Dean Davis all the best. He accomplished a great deal during his tenure, and inspired many of us to push harder, climb higher. We’ll miss him terribly.
It’s just too bad they pushed him out before he got to enjoy the fruits of all of his labor; if only academics knew how hard raising money for their new law school was…
Tell us more, Blackbear. Inquiring veterans of the Ole Miss law school want to know more. It appears that the solid core of legal education–i.e., property, contracts, con law, evidence, wills and trusts, corporations and partnerships, UCC, just to name the usual suspects that first come to an old mind–has pretty much gone away, replaced by a catalog of boutique courses pertaining to little niche interests. I find this disturbing. But nobody asked me.
For all the hype and back slapping at the exit of the Khayat administration, the new administration is faced with a malaise of innovation, ideas, and efficiency in many departments of the University. As for Dean Davis being “pushed out”, it would be appropriate to recognize that the academic malaise of the University is no more exemplified that at the Lamar Law Center.
With familiarity and comfort comes contentment. For this reason, it is the rare instance when a quality academic institution allows any but the most extraordinary individual to remain in the position of Dean in any discipline, but especially in the discipline of law. Dean Davis is a fine and decent man, but his departure is really not about Dean Davis, it is about moving the law school forward. The time for his replacement is several years overdue.
It should be a matter of concern for every law alumnus that about 8 or 9 years into Dean Davis’ 12 year tenancy,the U of M Law School dropped out of the ranking of top 100 law schools in the nation; a distinction it had maintained for many years previously. As would be expected, applications since that time have trended downward as have the credentials of both its applicants and its admitted students. It would appear, at least from the outside, that Dean Davis made little, if any, effort to reverse this trend.
The respect accorded my degree and all other graduates of the U of M School of Law is not based on the quality of the institution on the day of our graduation but on its reputation in the present time.
I applaud the new administration for addressing the issue without delay. I find fault in recognizing that only in academia would a person be relieved of his position for unsatisfactory performance and allowed to remain in that position for an additional six months.
Whatever changes are in store for the U of M Law School, they must wait another half year. I can only hope that the Lyceum will show a little more temerity in its pick of the interim and permanent replacements for Dean Davis than it did in allowing the law school to function these next 6 months with what will surely be a “vacant chair” in the office of dean.
Lack of good strategic planning in a CEO/COO demonstrated: Writing ill conceived letters to Judges requesting leniency for convicted felons. What other horrors of poor judgment lie just beneath surface here, waiting to unfold before our plaintive eyes?
Ben – I would say that yes, there are an overwhelming amount of “boutique” courses which are great but we lack, to name one, any Chancery Court Practice course at the law school similar to that offered years ago. The core classes will always be there but as to the quality of their instruction, that may be debatable.
sweet – I agree with some of what you say but have two general remarks: (1) those rankings – though looked at by some as true indication of a schools quality – are a very poor indication on the health and quality of a legal education (you can find the reasons why through a very simple search and I bet as soon as we move into our new facilities the jump is made back into the top 100); and (2) the composition of the law school student body, and faculty for that matter, depend largely on the faculty themselves and so they do deserve a share of this blame. In the end, I have been involved in too many faculty disputes at too many institutions of higher learning to know a sacrifice when I see one.
What is Khayat doing these days?
Maybe he can return to the deanship, and teach a course on professional ethics for lawyers.
I would like to see a more visible presence from our dean in the legal community. Especially in Jackson. I’m tired of being solicited for money by the dean of the other school.
After the UM Fund Development VP left, the position was vacant and a search was started. As a possible interim measure, RK returned in a special fund development role. Seems the non-State and non-Federal funding needs bolstering with major benefactors disappearing from the roles for whatever reason (Nutt, Scruggs, and many due to the financial crisis I’m sure.)
One good sign at the law school: Parham Williams is once more teaching Evidence.
Ben–if I’m not mistaken, he teaches it every spring. Which is why I held out.
I’m glad you posted this, NMC. There are many points discussed here that most law students just don’t hear in the Mothership. My default position is to assume there’s much more to any event like this than meets the eye, and these comments help put it all into perspective. Students live in a fishbowl, and frank assessments are (understandably) rare.
Thanks, y’all, and keep it coming!
Lunchtime scuttlebutt is expecting Ronnie Musgrove to suggest his fitness for the post.
Nice turn of phrase, there, Anderson– “to suggest his fitness for the post.”
Mississippiman, I would like to see a greater presence from the new dean in Jackson as well. Dean Rosenblatt at M.C. has done a good job meeting and befriending a large portion of the Jackson-area Bar. Obviously it’s much easier for him to do so, since he lives here, but the new dean should make an effort to develop relationships with Jackson-based alumni of all ages and practice areas. Just my two cents.
“The respect accorded my degree and all other graduates of the U of M School of Law is not based on the quality of the institution on the day of our graduation but on its reputation in the present time.”
IMO, the respect accorded your degree primarily ends after a few years actually practicing law. At that point, the degree of respect you command is mostly based upon your experience, legal abilities, actions, and the way you comport yourself with your peers and the judiciary. After a period of time, no one much cares anymore where you went to law school, whether you were on the law journal, etc.
My concern is not in subjective rankings (which often times is based upon criteria that have nothing to do with the quality of teaching or learning by the students), but in performance of these students once they leave law school —- are they hirable, can they do the work that I need them to be able to do to help my practice, will they be civil to other lawyers and treat them with respect, will they treat the judges with respect, will they be ethical in their practice, even when no one is looking? Those are the concerns that I have. And since one of my peers is now on staff at the UM law school, with others perhaps on the way in the future, I have great faith that they will be taught the right way.
“What is Khayat doing these days?
Maybe he can return to the deanship, and teach a course on professional ethics for lawyers.”
Pretty funny Anderson. Perhaps he will invite his buddy R. Scruggs as a guest speaker in class if he can get him a furlough.
Sounds like a job you can’t win at. What is a Dean to do? Should he take care of academics and instruction? Should he rub elbows with the graduates and donors? Should he be concerned with rankings?
Who would want that job?
How do you evaluate that person?
Good luck next Dean.
If a Dean takes care of academics and instruction, the rankings will follow as a consequence.
Dean Davis, as did RK, followed the practice of “cherry-picking” in their fundraising. That is, they chose to rub elbows and practice “servant-leadership” to selected monied graduates and donors. That practice works for a while but will eventually play out.
Many of the un-”cherry-picked” donors chose to forgo giving to the new law school after RK and Dean Davis stood in ethical and professional support of Dickie Scruggs after his plea. No longer could RK and Davis depend on their special friends while skimming over their general donor base. Funding for the new law center has been hurt.
NoMiss
Can I get an Amen? Amen, Amen, and Amen. In fact, I understand that the new law school is underfunded at this time to the tune of almost $10 million. I get most of my info 3rd hand so I stand to be corrected.
I can say that though I am a peon compared to the select group that RK relied on for his fundraising, I am fully capable of making a donation to the school beyond what I do on an annual basis. But then, I’ve never been asked directly or indirectly that I can recall.
NoMiss, you are spot on with that analysis. And it also applies equally to athletics. This is the reason why I think that Ole Miss, both academically and athletically, has barely scratched the surface of the great things that are possible. But, if we keep measuring success by comparing what is happening now at Ole Miss to Ole Miss in the past, instead of comparing ourselves to our peers and schools that we want to emulate, then we will continue to miss out on achieving our true potential. Compared to the mediocrity and underachieving stagnation of the past, anything and anyone looks really good. Change is on the way —-once the next generation takes charge. While I fully appreciate and respect all that has been done, I just think we are capable of so much more if we get a broader base of alumni on board —- as opposed to the “cherry picking”.