University of California, Irvine School of Law

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The Donald Bren School of Law is a law school at the University of California, Irvine. When its first class enters in Fall 2009, it will be the fifth law school in the UC system and the first public law school to open in California in 40 years. It is named for Donald Bren, an Irvine, CA real estate mogul and philanthropist. In September 2007, after some controversy, Erwin Chemerinsky was announced as the law school's first dean.

Chemerinsky controversy

In hiring an inaugural dean of the Donald Bren School of Law, which opens in 2008, the University approached Professor Erwin Chemerinsky, a well known legal scholar in constitutional law and liberal commentator. After signing a contract with Chemerinsky on September 4, 2007, the hire was rescinded by UCI Chancellor Michael V. Drake because he felt the law professor's commentaries were "polarizing" and would not serve the interests of California's first new public law school in 40 years; Drake claimed the decision was his own and not the subject of any outside influence.[1] The action was roundly criticized by liberal and conservative scholars who felt it hindered the academic mission of the law school, and disbelief over Chancellor Drake's claims that it was the subject of no outside influence.[1][2]

The issue was the subject of a New York Times editorial on Friday, September 14. [3] Details emerged revealing that UCI had received criticism on the hire from California Chief Justice Ronald M. George, who criticized Chemerinsky's grasp of death penalty appeals as well as a group of prominent Orange County Republicans and Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, who wanted to derail the appointment.[4] Drake traveled over a weekend to Durham, North Carolina, and the two reached an agreement late Sunday evening.[4] On September 17, Chemerinsky issued a joint press release with UCI Chancellor Michael V. Drake indicating that Chemerinsky would head the UCI law school, stating "Our new law school will be founded on the bedrock principle of academic freedom. The chancellor reiterated his lifelong, unqualified commitment to academic freedom, which extends to every faculty member, including deans and other senior administrators."[5]

References

  1. ^ a b Garrett Therolf and Henry Weinstein, UC Irvine aborts hiring Chemerinsky as law school dean , Los Angeles Times, September 13, 2007. Cite error: The named reference "LAT091307a" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  2. ^ Dana Parsons, Excuse for UCI's fumble on law school dean not good enough, Los Angeles Times, September 13, 2007.
  3. ^ A Bad Beginning in Irvine - New York Times
  4. ^ a b Garrett Therolf, Chemerinsky returns to UC Irvine post, Los Angeles Times, September 17, 2007.
  5. ^ OC Blog: Statement From Chemerinsky & Drake
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