Over at Verdict (here), Joanna Grossman (SMU), Kate Bartlett (Duke) and Debbie Brake (Pitt) have posted a beautiful tribute to their friend, colleague and co-author Deborah Rhode, who died earlier this month at the age of 68. Professors Rhode, Grossman, Bartlett and Brake were the co-authors of the casebook Gender and Law: Theory, Doctrine, Commentary. Here is an excerpt from the tribute:
While it would be impossible to reduce Professor Rhode’s scholarship to a few themes, one of the insights she brought to bear in much of her theory and practice was what she coined “the ‘no-problem’ problem.” (Although she first used this phrase much earlier, she elaborates on the meaning in this piece.) The basic insight was this: people assume that because women have made such great strides in education and employment, progress will continue until full gender equity is achieved. * * *
She was unfailingly supportive and collaborative in the best sense as a coauthor, always open to other perspectives and to compromise. She approached our work as an opportunity for growth, not a platform for her own agenda. The words she most often used to describe collaborative projects were “great fun.”
What also stands out is the exceptional generosity she exhibited toward others, especially to junior women colleagues. This generosity was vividly conveyed this past weekend when the news of her death went out across the women’s law prof listserv. Dozens of emails crossed, with vivid remembrances of how Professor Rhode had mentored and befriended so many students and women faculty.
Read the full piece here.
May Deborah Rhode’s memory be a blessing.
