Law Schools
Faculty Protest DePaul Dean’s Ouster; Ill. Appeals Judge Named as Replacement
Posted Jun 22, 2009, 02:17 pm CST
By Martha Neil
A 76-year-old Illinois Court of Appeals judge has been appointed to a two-year term as acting dean of DePaul University College of Law after the sudden removal last week of Glen Weissenberger in the middle of his second five-year term as dean.
But the appointment of Judge Warren Wolfson appears unlikely to quell a firestorm of criticism by faculty and others that erupted after the news of Weissenberger's dismissal. It includes an e-mail in which constitutional law scholar Stephen Siegel threatened to resign as associate dean when a replacement was named, according to Chicago Tribune.
Siegel, who has been at DePaul for 37 years, seemingly has no objection to Wolfson, although the law prof says he disagrees with Weissenberger's removal as dean. However, he seeks to protest what he describes in his e-mail as the university's failure to consult with the law school's faculty before hiring an interim dean.
Although three other DePaul law deans have previously been removed mid-term during his time at DePaul, "every previous time, the university turned to the faculty with expectation and trust that we would step into the breach—and we did, superbly, working cooperatively to bring the best out of the situation," Siegel writes in his e-mail, which is included by the Tribune in its article.
"This time—although we have the most talented and prestigious collection of faculty we ever have had—we have effectively been put into a two-year receivership, with no consultation, dialogue, trust," he states.
The Tribune article doesn't include any comment from the law school administration.
Hat tip: Faculty Lounge.
Additional coverage:
TaxProf Blog: "DePaul Names Illinois Judge as Interim Dean Over Unanimous Opposition of Faculty"
ABAJournal.com (June 19): "DePaul Dean Is Removed, Cites Letter to ABA as Reason"
Updated at 5:20 p.m. to link to TaxProf Blog post.
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