Law Schools
Former U of I Law Dean Says She Was Victim of Admissions Scandal
Posted Aug 6, 2009 9:05 AM CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss
Former University of Illinois law dean Heidi Hurd says she was a victim—rather than a perpetrator—of the school’s admissions scandal.
In a letter to a commission investigating admissions practices, Hurd, now a law professor at the school, said public officials abused their power when they forced her to admit students who didn’t make the initial cut, the Chicago Tribune reports.
No one "should come to mistake the story's perpetrators with its victims, those who use implicit coercion with those who regularly feel themselves under its duress," she wrote.
A Chicago Tribune investigation found that U of I compiled an applicant clout list based on lobbying by government officials. Documents obtained by the newspaper suggested that the law school got $300,000 in university scholarship money in exchange for admitting politically connected applicants.
Hurd said the practice was similar to a mugging victim who hands over her wallet but begs to keep photos of the kids.
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Comments
Dick
Aug 6, 2009 11:53 AM CST
And her explanation for giving into such pressure is….......?
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LS
Aug 6, 2009 1:00 PM CST
Everyone’s a victim these days, even someone smart enough to become a law professor but who chooses not to deploy her legal training to deal with political corruption.
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frogmarch
Aug 7, 2009 9:16 AM CST
And of course, she resigned and made the issue public, so as not to give in to the pressure. - Oh, no it came out by way of a criminal investigation -after she had agreed to admit the nose-pickers.
I suppose the folks who pressured her were under pressure, and the folks who pressured them were under pressure and so on and so and so on.
It comes down to accountability Heidi. Accountability.
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Ron Roeser
Aug 7, 2009 9:20 AM CST
I graduated an Illinois law school almost 35 years ago. What amazes me about this whole incident is that the issue of politically favored admissions has been a known secret since I was an applicant.
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Greg
Aug 7, 2009 10:01 AM CST
Is ARDC looking into her conduct?
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Eric Hasselberg
Aug 7, 2009 10:31 AM CST
This is the same Canadian-born academic who spoke at the Monmouth College graduation in 2003 and called the US an imperialist country. It is no surprise that she blames everyone but herself for this sewage. It is so typical of a liberal.
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Mike
Aug 7, 2009 10:36 AM CST
It’s call whistleblowing. And then it’s called retaliatory discharge, professor.
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Anthony Andreano
Aug 7, 2009 10:49 AM CST
The only thing she’s a victim of is moral relativism. Note that she didn’t resign at the time she was under the “duress” of political pressure - only after her complicity and even then only upon the “duress” of a publicized scandal. She should be fired from her professorship.
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B. McLeod
Aug 8, 2009 8:38 PM CST
The function of a dean is not necessarily to be an ethical purist. The mission of the dean is not to accumulate stars on her shield. The dean fosters and protects the institution that is the law school. If the school is forced to take some questionable admissions, but, to assuage its agony, receives $300,000 for scholarships, I have to say that does not shock my conscience. Let’s pretend that we are not children here, and give due consideration to what the dean achieved for the school (in exchange for admissions she could probably not have prevented anyway).
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prosecute1966
Aug 10, 2009 1:08 PM CST
Wait! Hold the presses! You mean that clout and influence are sometimes used to assist students to gain admission into colleges and universities?!! Why, I never… I’m…I’m…shocked. I just never knew such things happened in American universities.
C’mon, this is a newsflash to anyone?
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Art
Aug 10, 2009 3:23 PM CST
There have always been two admission tracks to U of I. One track is for regular students (politically connected or no) and the other, which is acknowledged, nurtured and promoted, is for student athletes. Why?: They bring money to the school by encouraging alumni donations and putting fannies in the seats. What’s the difference?: Is it because she only raised $300,000.
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