I am sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings during the holiday season. Unfortunately, however, I recently learned that University of Illinois law professor Larry Ribstein passed away suddenly earlier today. Larry was a well-known and highly regarded legal scholar – one of the best of his generation. He wrote extensively on corporate law, […]
Archive | Academia
The New York Times on ABA Accreditation of Law Schools
David Segal’s recent New York Times article on ABA accreditation of law schools makes the important point that the ABA uses the accreditation process to reduce competition for its members by artificially reducing the number of law schools, and thereby eliminating potential competitors for its members. This interacts with laws that require consumers to rely […]
Debate on Fisher v. University of Texas
For DC-area readers who may be interested, this Friday the Federalist Society and the Heritage Foundation are co-sponsoring a debate on Fisher v. University of Texas, an important affirmative action case that the Supreme Court is now deciding whether or not to take. The debate pits James Ho, counsel for the University of Texas in […]
Affirmative Action for Men in College Admissions
My wife Alison and University of San Diego law professor Gail Heriot have just published an article in Engage on the apparently growing practice of sex discrimination on behalf of men in college admissions. Heriot serves as a Commissioner at the US Commission on Civil Rights, where Alison is her special assistant/counsel. Here’s an excerpt […]
Mankiw on the Student Walkout
In a column in Saturday’s NYT, Harvard economics professor Greg Mankiw responds to the student “walkout” of his introductory economics class. The column’s title: “Know What You’re Protesting.” Here’s a taste. Eight minutes into the lecture, about 5 to 10 percent of the class stood up and quietly left. Some other students who had taken […]
George Will on Fisher v. Texas
George Will recently published an interesting column on Fisher v. Texas, an important affirmative action case that the Supreme Court is in the process of deciding whether to take: The Supreme Court faces a discomfiting decision. If it chooses, as it should, to hear a case concerning racial preferences in admissions at the University of […]
What Should Law Schools Teach? (What Should the NYT Learn?)
By Jonathan H. Adler on November 20, 2011 1:42 pm in Academia, Law Schools, Legal Profession, Legal Scholarship
Today’s NYT has a lengthy front-page article on legal education suggesting that a major problem with legal education is the failure to teach law students how to practice law. There is something to this complaint — some schools and some legal academics do relatively little to prepare their students for practice and there is much […]
How Grade Inflation Hurts Math and Science Education
The New York Times has an interesting story on the declining number of math and science majors in universities. The article identifies many potential culprits, including grade inflation in the humanities and social sciences. It is no surprise that grades are lower in math and science, where the answers are clear-cut and there are no […]
Diversity Within Student Groups vs. Diversity Across Student Groups
I agree with most of what co-blogger Eugene Volokh writes about the benefits of have a wide range of student groups at law schools, including ones that focus on specific ethnic or religious groups. I addressed a similar issue in this 2007 post: Those who argue for diversity in higher education implicitly envision a school […]
Law School Review
The National Law Journal has a new blog, Law School Review, focusing on legal education. Contributors include Brian Tamanaha, William Henderson, Erwin Chemerinsky, John O’Brien, Lucille Jewel, Kyle McEntee, and Michael Olivas.
Justice Breyer on Tenure Standards at Harvard Law School in the Late 1960s
In the latest George Washington Law Review, Justice Stephen Breyer has an interesting reflection on writing his first law review article when he was a professor at Harvard in the late 1960s. It’s an interesting essay on what he was trying to say and why he wrote that article, but I was struck most by […]
A Critical Review of Gilbert Achcar, The Arabs and the Holocaust
Writing a good book review of a bad book is always a challenge, and I always admire those who do so successfully. So here is a very well-done review by Matthias Kuntzel and Colin Reade of “The Arabs and the Holocaust.” One quick excerpt: Achcar even manages to find excuses for the dissemination [in the […]
John Mearsheimer Update
Lots of folks couldn’t believe that John Mearsheimer, distinguished international relations professor at the University of Chicago, would endorse an anti-Semitic book by fringe kook anti-Semite Gilad Atzmon. Perhaps he was misquoted, or simply blurbed the book without realizing what he was doing? Surely he would retract once a public controversy erupted? Nope. Blogger Adam […]
Richard Epstein Reflects on His Academic Success
From Epstein’s remarks on accepting the Bradley Prize in May: The great advantage that I had was no strong mentor, so I went off at my own pace in my own direction. The combination of philosophy, ancient law, and some economics that I picked up along the way set the stage for my work. If […]
Irony?
Star: Professor at his first lecture of the semester to Canadian university students: “Despite what you may have heard elsewhere, everyone is not entitled to their opinion. ‘All Jews should be sterilized’ would be an example of an unacceptable and dangerous opinion.” Student misunderstands, and launches attack on professor for being anti-Semitic. When the context […]