Eagleionline

By Professor Ruth-Arlene W. Howe

On Tuesday, I sent the following message to my faculty colleagues:

Dear Colleagues

In great sorrow, I signed the attached joint letter of resignation submitted today to Brian Falvey, current president of the Boston College Alumni Association. Following are some personal thoughts which I hope can provide further context.

At a Special Meeting of the Alumni Council, called for 9 AM Saturday, December 1, Brian Falvey moved that the Council recommend to the alumni a new Constitution and By-Laws for the Association. These new

documents effectively abolish the existing Alumni Council, and establish instead an 18-21 member Board selected by Dean Garvey and a large Assembly of alumni leaders. Former Alumni Association president William McCormack facilitated several Q & A sessions. The first session followed presentations by Council members of an Executive Board Subcommittee set up to review and analyze comments and critiques by Council members of the circulated documents (Brian Cardoza, George Field, Chair, Ann Palmieri joined by Dennis Cohen, and Marty Ebel, who both served this past summer on a Task Force convened by the Dean and co-chaired by Brian Falvey and Marianne Lord). The second Q & A followed presentations by various BCLS personnel, faculty alumnus Robert Bloom, a Task Force member, Dean Fillippa Anzalone, Dean Norah Wylie, Marianne Lord, Jeanne French and Nate Kenyon.

What dismayed and distressed me most about this meeting was the absence of full, robust discussion by all gathered. The vote tally for Brian Falvey’s motion was 25 in favor and 23 opposed. I thus found it very troubling that so few of those who voted for the motion spoke at all. The basic question of why was change necessary was never definitely answered. Instead, the one new insight I gained, which explained the feeling of many this fall “that a train had already left the station,” came from comments by Marianne Lord. A new structure needed to be in place that matched what had been described in a request for university funding of a new professional position for which approval has already been obtained. What a pity! By not forthrightly sharing and engaging the Council in seeking university approval, this “cart” of a proposal got put before the “horse” of the existing Alumni Council. At the eleventh hour, with the calendar year near over, concern is great that the university approval might be withdrawn if the submitted restructuring is not in place. But alas, given the assessment by experienced corporate lawyers on the Council that the new documents are “fatally flawed” instruments, one can not help but wonder about the likelihood of finding a truly savvy professional alumni relations person willing to accept the job.

In closing, I would like to state the following:

1. I believe that membership of an alumni association of a professional school should be limited to those who are graduates of the school.
2. It should be an autonomous organization whose mission is to strengthen and support the experience of current students, to help prepare them to serve in whatever setting they may work after graduation and to have a positive impact on both their individual communities and the larger society.
3. Such an independent association should be financially supported by its dues paying members who also make financial donations to the school whenever possible and receive solid support from professional alumni relations staff. There should be a partnership between the independent association and the school administration, marked by cooperative and collaborative interactions to achieve mutual goals.
4. An autonomous independent alumni association should be organized on a representative model, not mirror a corporate model in which the chief executive (i.e., the dean) selects and makes leadership appointments. The members of an independent association should select their own leaders, based upon platforms submitted to advance agreed upon goals and programs. Both the leadership and general membership should reflect and be inclusive of all segments of the alumni body.

Sincerely,
Ruth-Arlene W. Howe

[Editor’s Note: The following comments were made anonymously on Eagleionline’s previous site. They are included here for historical purposes only, and do not necessarily represent the views of Ms. Howe or Eagleionline.]

6 Responses to “Alumni Council Resignation”

1. on 13 Dec 2007 at 4:34 pm 3L

Why is Dean Garvey so afraid of his own alumni, faculty, and students? I understand that he has put pressure on the founders of eagleionline. Now the alumni council will be under his complete control. This is a great case study in how not to lead an institution.

Unfortunately, BC is becoming a second-rate law school under his leadership and we will all suffer as a result. How many of our best professors will leave before Dean Garvey finally moves on? Who knows how many prospective students and professors will continue to look elsewhere because of the direction in which the law school is headed?

At this point, I would probably advise any friend who is applying to law school and not a white Catholic to save himself the trouble and go to BU or somewhere else. Why bother having to suffer through Garvey’s ideological crusade and the administration’s general incompetence.

Alumni and (tenured) faculty, please help! Current students like me have heard too many stories of Dean Garvey threating to ruin careers. We just want to graduate unscathed. The resignations from the alumni council are a good first step. What’s next?

2. on 13 Dec 2007 at 6:33 pm Concerned 2L

There are members of our Alumni Association that aren’t Alumni?

Why does Dean Garvey have such control over this body?

I really wish I could read something written by Dean Garvey or those that supported the restructuring, because everything I’ve read so far has been from those opposed, and based on that, a lot of it doesn’t seem right.

Dean Garvey, your rebuttal please.

3. on 17 Dec 2007 at 4:04 pm Awesome…

Sweet! Does this mean the Third World Journal gets to dissolve as well? Or do we still have to wait until Prof. Howe retires?

4. on 17 Dec 2007 at 5:21 pm Ellen

The Third World Law Journal, which I believe owes its existence in part to Prof. Howe, is a very important part of our school. This is because the journal is committed to social values and stresses that inequality and other inequities are very much a part of our society.

But please don’t confuse these issues. There is a real question here about the Dean’s leadership. Whatever your thoughts are about Prof. Howe or the Third World Law Journal, the fact is that, by my reading, about 20% of the alumni council just resigned.

Even if you took a very self-interested view of the matter, that’s REALLY bad for students. Frankly I don’t care what their political affiliations are; if they are not helping the Dean raising money and find jobs for BC Law students that’s really bad for us.

However bad this is for the majority of people here at BC, it is even worse for minorities. Prof. Howe was a beacon light of hope for many minority students here. Even if you could care less amount minority interests, you have to admit that Prof. Howe played an important part in the lives of many, many BC Law students over the years. (She ought to be commended more for doing so much, In my view). This resignation sends a strong message, as has been said elsewhere, that BC Law is not a place for minority students, or anyone holding minority interests.

If BC Law is to be a truly great school, it is going to have to solve this problem. I don’t claim to have all the answers, but I know a failure when I see it. When 20% of our Alumni Council resigns, that’s a failure. I’m not casting the blame on Dean Garvey - I look forward, not back. But I think together most people would admit that we have a problem.

5. on 17 Dec 2007 at 7:10 pm  Garvey lover

Nothing you could say
Could tear me away from my Garvey (My Garvey)
Nothing you could do
‘Cause I’m stuck like glue to my Garvey
I’m sticking to my Garvey like a stamp to a letter
Like birds of a feather
We stick together
I’m telling you from the start
I can’t be torn apart from my Garvey

6. on 17 Dec 2007 at 10:57 pm  Ew

Ellen, please leave this website. You’re melodramatic and far too serious for this game.

Prof. Howe is not a good instructor. It is only for her sake, and for the sake of rankings, that the TWLJ is still around. When she leaves, it leaves.

By Jesse Stellato

Nine members the Boston College Law School Alumni Association’s Alumni Council resigned on Monday, citing deep dissatisfaction with BC Law’s “Administration.” Though declining to mention John Garvey, Dean of BC Law, by name, the resigning members implied that the current dean’s “opportunistic, antagonistic and uncompromising” administration led them to resign.

In addition to these resignations, which were addressed to Brian Falvey, President of the Boston College Law School Alumni Association, alumni leaders from California wrote separately to BC Law alumni in Southern and Northern California to explain their decision. The leaders’ letter was first posted anonymously this afternoon on Eagleionline.

Click to read more ...

Two reports this week: First, it appears that the vast, vast majority of people at BC Law who took the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE) on November 3 received passing scores. Still, some Eagles question the fact that in some states you only have to get half of the questions correct in order to pass.

Second, one nervous Eagle told us yesterday that we have been remiss not to cover the recent "near certain" layoffs of 24 Associates at Thacher Proffitt & Wood. "I am concerned about this," the student said, probably referring more to the dependability his (or her) corporate law job than the dearth of information about the layoffs on Eagleionline. For the record, you can find the Above the Law story here, and the Wall Street Journal Law Blog story here. Also for the record, we would point interested readers to a conversation Eagleionline did have about the credit crunch here.

You can email "Overheard" tips to Eagleionline using the "Contact" tab above. Per standard journalistic practice, we promise keep our anonymous sources confidential.

The grading curve is the ultimate equalizer. Since you are measured against your peers and not some objective standard, there is no such thing as an easy or hard test. Everyone has the same opportunity to excel or fail. The playing field is level. Unless of course, your last name begins with the letters N-Z.

For you 1Ls who might not be aware of what happens on exam day, half of the students in your class will be taking the test in one room, while the rest will be in a second room. This is a necessity for a few reasons. First, exams are often open book, so students need lots of space to sprawl out their casebooks, outlines, checklists, diagrams, etc. Second, it provides the necessary buffer to help guard against wandering eyes. This could not be accomplished if all seats were filled, so splitting the class up is necessary and doing it alphabetically is the easiest way. Usually what happens is that half of the class will sit for the exam in the room where the class met throughout the semester, while the other half will be assigned to a second room. This is where things begin to get unfair, as context-dependent memory comes into play.

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After months of speculation, it appears that presidential hopeful Mitt Romney will lay aside the advice of his campaign advisors and address his Mormon faith and religion in general Thursday at the George H.W. Bush library, according to a recent article published by cbsnews.com.

After building a substantial lead in Iowa polls, Romney suddenly finds himself looking up at former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, a baptist minister who now leads by as many as four points in some polls. Romney has, until now, accepted questions about his religion, which some mainstream Christians view as unorthodox or even outright heretical, but has tried to keep the issue of religion on the periphery of his campaign, stressing that a person's faith should not be a substantial issue in determining his fitness for office. Speculation has risen that Romney's planned speech, which many are already comparing to John F. Kennedy's speech on the same issue, is a reaction to his recent fall in the Iowa polls behind a candidate whose religious views are more widely accepted among evangelical conservatives.

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Lovingly lifted from the pages of PrawlfsBlawg:

Today is December 1 and, since Congress did nothing, the Restyled Federal Rules of Civil Procedure now are in effect. The project has rewritten all 80+ rules, modernizing language (good-bye "averments," hello "allegations;" good-bye "shall," hello "must") and structuring the rules into parts, sections, and sub-sections, away from longer sentence/paragraph form. But the changes (supposedly) have no effect on the meaning or proper interpretation of any of the rules.

Just a little reminder that the educations of BCLS 2Ls and 3Ls are already becoming outdated. Anyone want to retake Civ Pro?