University of Houston Law Center Dean Nancy Rapoport announced her resignation yesterday, effective May 31. A Houston Chronicle article reports that the resignation is related to the school’s fall in the U.S. News rankings. Here is an excerpt which I am sure had nothing whatsoever to do with Rapoport’s gender:
The decision comes just one week after a faculty meeting in which students who showed up to discuss the drop in rankings and some professors aggressively criticized Rapoport.
Some students said Rapoport cried during the meeting.
“Rumors are going to twist it into her breaking down, and I don’t think that’s accurate,” said second-year student Neil Desai, who attended the meeting. “There’s one thing to be sobbing and there’s one thing to be talking passionately and becoming emotional after what was two and a half hours of having not only to defend herself,” but her vision for the school, he said.
So freaking what if she “became emotional.” She cares about the law school! The idiocy and gameability of the U.S. News rankings have been well covered elsewhere. I don’t have any firsthand experience with Nancy Rapoport’s deaning, but she certainly is widely known to be a wonderful mentor and kind, energetic colleague. I have benefited personally from her intellectual generosity, and I hope and expect that her future will be filled with good things.
Via TaxProf Blog and the Leiter Law School Reports.
–Ann Bartow
Update: See also Christine Hurt’s post at the Conglomerate.
