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Degnan, Daniel A., S.J.

Staff, Editorial

English

Editorial Staff

bepress Legal Repository

The Dean\u27s Letter

Seton Hall University Libraries

Seton Hall University eRepository @ Seton Hall Newspapers Seton Hall Law Archives Fall 1982 The Dean's Letter Daniel A. Degnan S.J. Editorial Staff Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.shu.edu/law_newspapers  Part of the Law Commons Recommended Citation Degnan, Daniel A. S.J. and Staff, Editorial, "The Dean's Letter" (1982). Newspapers. 8. https://scholarship.shu.edu/law_newspapers/8 1THE DEAN’S LETTERI0t; VoL 3, No. i,  Fall 1982Dear Alumni and Alumnae,After four years as Dean, I am happy to report to you that Seton Hall University School of Law has become a mature law school of high reputation in New Jersey and growing recognition in the nation. The Quality of our graduates is widely acknowledged, our relatively young faculty has become increasingly productive in both teaching and research, the annual number of applicants has risen to 2,000 and the quality of our students is higher than ever. Finally, our alumni and friends have supported the law school and its students most generously.This report will state some of the major changes at the law school in the last four years, in faculty, students, library, alumni, development and administration. Some of the facts may be startling even to close observers. The law library, for example, now has an annual budget in excess of $700,000 and a staff of seventeen. The full-time faculty numbers 37. With 1170 students (755 day, 415 evening), Seton Hall is the 21st largest law school in the nation, and the largest in New Jersey.Before I move on, words of praise are in order. First, the University, through the President, Dr. Edward R. D'Alessio, and the Board of Regents, has called for and supported a law school of high quality. Second, the growth and maturity of the last four years owes much to our faculty, who are the heart of the School.FACULTYAttention to the quality of teaching and to scholarly research and publication, the adoption of new rank and tenure standards, the hiring of nine new faculty, the addition of required courses, the growth of our clinics, the quality of our law review and legislative journal, are among the things that have depended on the faculty's work and dedication.In the Fall of 1977 we had 30 full-time faculty. Today we have 37 (39 with the Dean and the Director of the Library). Our adjunct faculty, almost equal in size, includes federal judges and leading specialists. In 1978, besides the Dean, we added Charles Sullivan (LL.B. Harvard 1968) from the Arkansas faculty, Michael Zimmer (J.D. Marquette 1967) from the Wayne State faculty, and Karla Simon (J.D. Duke 1972 and LL.M. New York University 1976) from tax practice in New York. In 1979, Holly Robinson (J.D. New York University 1975) came from private practice in New York, Neil Cohen (J.D. New York University 1977) from a Boston firm, Bernard Freamon (J.D. Rutgers 1974) came from the Rutgers Newark clinics and Ramon Ortiz (J.D. Rutgers 1975) from Essex Legal Services. In 1980, Andrea Catania (J.D. St. John's 1976) joined us from a New York firm. In 1981, Margaret Gilhooley (LL.B. Columbia 1966) came from the Food and Drug Administration and Brenda Saunders (J.D. Seton Hall 1977) from practice in New Jersey and New York. In 1982, Bostjan Zupancic (S.J.D. Harvard 1981) came from teaching at Iowa and Fordham.The Richard J. Hughes Chair was filled in 1981, its first year, by Governor Hughes himself. Stanley Van Ness, New Jersey's first Public Advocate, is this year's Hughes Professor.Our visiting faculty this year are Robert Wade of Capital of Ohio, Cynthia Lepow of Loyola in New Orleans, Daniel Subotnik from Santa Clara, and Alan Stein from Fordham. Marshall Prettyman returns as visiting clinical professor and Maureen Garde (J.D. Seton Hall 1978) comes to us from New Jersey practice as our first leeal writing instructor. 5This steady growth in our faculty has enabled us to offer advanced courses and seminars in subjects such as Taxation, Constitutional Law, Securities Regulation, Environmental Law, Trial Practice, and State Constitutional Law. A new program in legal writing has been instituted. Our legal clinics have received a dramatic boost through the addition of the two regular, full-time teachers. Clinic staff attorneys and other faculty are also active in clinics.We are especially proud of our clinics: Legal Services, Family Law, Juvenile Justice, and the Hispanic Clinic, which serve both education and the community. The Legislative Bureau, a unique clinic, offers legal assistance to the State Legislature.Faculty ScholarshipThe increase of faculty scholarship in the last few years points to our maturity. Books written or edited include the following: Charles Sullivan and Michael Zirrmer have written Employment Discrimination Law (Bobbs Merrill, 1981) and a casebook on the same topic, Cases and Materials on Employment Discrimination (Little Brown, 1982); E. Judson Jennings & Christopher Clancy, Municipal Corporations, Vol. 2B, in New Jersey Law (Matthew Bender Co., 1980); E. Judson Jennings, Practice & Law Division, Vol. 3A, in New Jersey Law (Revision, 1982); William Garland has e^ited-the New Jersey Business Forms for the last four years (West Publishing Co.)f^obec^A7~-T)jLab;, ^ew_Jersey Probate Reform (ICLE); Thomas J. Holton, Preface to L ^ '~̂WnTr 'Hein & Coj? 1981); Mark Denbeaux and Michael Risinger, Evidence (ICLE, 1978), and BosfjaifZupancic has written Criminal Law: The Conflict and the Rules (New York, 1981).AJoseph LynchJ^ working on a history of the United States Supreme Court in the pre-Civil War era, and Arthur Pinto is working on a text on corporate finance.Scholarly articles for the academic year 1981-82 include: James Boskey - Monograph - (Co-Author) "A Model Syllabus for a Course in Law, Social Policy, and Aging" (forthcoming from American University Press, 1982), Book Reviews - 14 Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law 935 (1981), 36 The Arbitration Journal 45 (1981}; Wilfredo Caraballo - "Tender Trap: U.C.C. S1-207 And Its Applicability To An Attempted Accord And Satisfaction By Tendering A Check In A Dispute Arising From A Sale Of Goods", 11 Seton Hall Law Review 445 (1981); Neil Cohen -"Value Judgments: Accounts Receivable Financing and Voidable Preferences Under The New Bankruptcy Code", 66 Minnesota Law Review 639 (April 1982); Daniel A. Degnan, S.J., Dean -"Two Models of Positive Law in Aquinas: A Study of the Relationship of Positive Law and Natural Law", 46 The Thomist 1 (January 1982); Bernard Freamon - "Death with Dignity Laws: A Plea for Uniform Legislation", 5 Seton Hall Legislative Journal 105 (1982); William Garland - "Purchaser's Interest Rate Increases - Caveat Venditor", New York Law Review (1982); E. Judson Jennings - "Relationship of Procedure to Substance in Civil Rights Actions Under Section 1983: No Cause for Complaint?", 12 Seton Hall Law Review 1 (1981); Joseph Lynch - "Fletcher v. Peck: The Nature of the Contract Clause" forthcoming in Seton Hall Law Review (1982), Arthur Pinto - "Transactions On or Off The Stock Exchanges By Corporate Directors Involving Shares of Their Own or Related Companies", 30 American Journal of Comparative Law 201 (1982); Karla Simon - "Tax-exempt Status of Racially Discriminatory Religious Schools", 36 Tax Law Review 477 (Summer 1981); Martha Traylor - "Insurance Against International Oil Pollution", No. 7 Environmental Law Symposium 83 (1982), Four Case Analyses, Supreme Court Preview (1978-1982).3The faculty are involved in many other activities. Examples range from Elizabeth Defeis' lectures in Italy and India for the State Department to Brenda Saunders' conducting an intensive six week Summer Institute for Pre-Legal Studies for undergraduate students; Michael Ambrosio's work for the State Bar Committee on the Proposed Model Rules of Professional Conduct; Livingston Baker's chairmanship of the New Jersey section on International Law; Karla Simon's chairmanship of the Section on Taxation of the Association of American Law Schools; Lawrence Bershad's organizing and chairing of a new section on Legislation for the Association; and Arthur Pinto's paper for the Summer 1982 meeting of the 11th Congress of Comparative Law in Venezuela, "The Comparative Law of Corporations". The Dean chairs the Criminal Disposition Commission and serves on several committees of the State bar.STUDENTS 1978-82When the American Bar Association inspection team visited the law school, its members were extremely impressed with our students. They found our students to be highly intelligent, hard working, loyal and independent. The number of students has remained steady, but there has been a major change in the proportion of day and evening students. In 1978, there were 630 day students and 530 evening students; now there are 755 day students and 415 evening students. We are committed to evening law studies, but the new proportion reflects our pool of applicants and serves other needs.Since 1978, applicants have increased from 1584 to 2006, with the average grade point average of entering students rising to 3.34 and the average LSAT score rising to 615.A major recruiting effort in the last few years by Ed Hendrickson, our Dean of Admissions, and the School's growing reputation have increased the number and quality of our applicants and the diversity of the student body. Visits to colleges, with the assistance of faculty and students, range from New England on the north to Pittsburgh and Notre Dame to the west, and as far south as Dean Hendrickson's alma mater, the University of South Carolina. Over 90% of Seton Hall's students are New Jersey residents, and a majority have studied at out-of-state colleges and universities.Seton Hall has an effective Student Bar Association and numerous active student organizations which contribute immeasurably to the educational and professional life of the school, through lectures, workshops and social events.One of our important admissions programs is the Monsignor Fahy program for disadvantaged students, in which a selected group enrolls in a first year course and writing program in the summer, in order to demonstrate aptitude for law studies. Related to admissions is another program run in conjunction with Rutgers Law School, the Summer Institute for Pre-Legal Studies, for college students. Funded by the State Equal Opportunity Fund and directed by Professor Saunders, it is designed to increase skills in writing and analysis, and to interest students in a legal career.Seton Hall is becoming a regional law school in many respects although our strength remains our attraction to New Jersey residents and our close ties to New Jersey's legal profession.r 4LIBRARYAfter faculty and students, the library is our greatest resource. The library now commands a budget of over $700,000 a year, over $300,000 of this for books. The staff numbers six professional librarians and eleven assistants.Our new Director of the Library, Professor Richard Hutchins, an experienced librarian, has re-organized the library, and is guiding our book acquisitions. The volume count is now 209,000, and LEXIS was added in 1981. One of our important library needs now that re-organization has been completed is planning, including plans for a new addition.Professional librarians hired recently are Jann Braudis Brown, Catalog Librarian, Jean M. Scott, Acquisitions and Documents Librarian, William Mills, Reference Librarian (evenings), and Constance Nourse, Reference Librarian (weekends).ALUMNI AND DEVELOPMENTMy greatest personal pleasure as Dean has come from the support and loyalty of the alumni. In 1979, only a paper alumni organization existed, the law school's own annual giving fund was an idea, and some resentments lingered from more stringent days. Yet our alumni had had exceptional success at the bar and were deeply loyal to each other and, it turned out, to the law school.We have now had two years of an active, successful alumni association and three years of annual giving. A strong alumni and development office is headed with skill and warmth by Grace Armstrong, who seems to know all of our alumni and students by name. Alumni-supported events have ranged from the alumni third year mixer, dinner dances, and golf tournaments to the first annual Hughes Forum.Annual giving has been a remarkable success story. In three years, gifts have risen from $42,258 in the first year to $96,000 last year. The percentage of alumni donors has increased from 11% the first year to just over 20% last year, while the average gift for each year has remained constant at about $95.00. Experts in the field tell us that this kind of support, so early in our efforts, is remarkable.Most important have been the support and mutual respect and pride in each other and in the law school shown by our alumni. These strengths have influenced our students in addition to helping the law school in many ways, from placement of graduates to funds for library, clinics and financial aid, the acquisition of LEXIS, and even a new front lawn. The alumni association — in its first two years under Stephen Foley and this year under Bernard Hartnett — is anxious to move into the educational area, with lectures or workshops given by our faculty for alumni.ADMINISTRATION1. Dean's OfficeWorking with the University, we have established a separate budget for the law school, with all expenditures and income accounted for, from instruction andlibrary to energy and maintenance and the mortgage on the new law school building.The total expense budget has risen to 5.3 million for 1982-83.An Assistant Dean for Administration, a Director of Student Affairs, and staff persons were added. Our next effort will be to improve the registrar's system forgrades, transcripts, etc. We are continuing a long-term effort to upgrade secretarial and other staff positions, in keeping with the salary levels in Newark.Word Processing equipment has been installed for use by administration, the alumni office, admissions, and faculty. Books and articles by faculty have been assisted by this capacity.2. Admissions OfficeSeton Hall, with a strengthened admissions office under Ed Hendrickson, and with help from faculty and students, began in 1979 to recruit at all Eastern universities and colleges. Results in the last two years have been dramatic: an increase of 400 applicants, from 1584 to 2006, with a broader pool of students. We look at more than LSAT’s, (the LSAT average is 615 and the grade point average is 3.34 both day and evening), we also look at achievement and academic discipline. Minority enrollment, black and Hispanic, is about 8%. A good number of our students are sons and daughters of alumni.3. Placement OfficeAccording to the ABA Inspection Team, one of our greatest success stories has been the Placement Office under Roger Huber since Fall 1978. (Roger is a law graduate of 1978 and a Presbyterian minister). Roger believes in placing people, not merely in showing students how to do a resume. His part-time assistant, Robert Warmington, works the same way. The other part of the story is our graduates. They are persistent in seeking positions in a tight market and they do excellent work, as scores of lawyers and judges have told me. I attribute this to the blend of hard work, idealism, and sound intelligence that characterizes our student body. We hope to expand Roger's office this year with an assistant director.4. Financial AidOurFinancial Aid Office in 1982, under Aida Valledor, awarded $515,810 in grants, and assisted 899 students (78% of the student body) in obtaining $4,098,477 in Federal loans, with an average loan of $4,559. Grants are not endowed and Seton Hall contributes this form of financial aid, based on need. There are few endowed scholarships, but an important one is the $9,000 awarded annually to minority students from the Newark area, the Daniel A. Degnan Minority Scholarship, provided through the Trust Department of First National State Bank.5. Building and GroundsOur immediate need is for additional space for the law library. With about 209,000 volumes, and heavy use by students, alumni and others, we are just about out of space. A new wing is planned, along Mulberry Street, with the ground and first floors for library. The second floor will house faculty offices, a new moot court room and a large classroom. The temporary building cannot last forever, so the next phase would be another wing, with the library using the entire first wing.In the meantime, improvements are made. The Annex, the "temporary" building, saw a new walkway, lounge and cafeteria in 1979. Offices for Law Review, the Legislative Bureau and student organizations and a new classroom have been added. In the new building, offices for admissions and placement were built. This summer a new front lawn and sprinkler system were installed. This enhances the appearance of the law school and downtown Newark.6PERSPECTIVE* Seton Hall University School of Law alumni are now a major force in thelegal profession and the government of New Jersey, but the future influence of Seton Hall will be even greater. We graduate over 300 men and women a year to join the legal profession, most of them in New Jersey. It is of the greatest importance, therefore, that Seton Hall University School of Law be of the highest quality. New Jersey's legislature and Governor recognized this importance in 1979, when the Richard J. Hughes Chair was established at Seton Hall, with an annual endowment of $65,000. This forms a strong base, along with our increasingly successful annual appeal.Our alumni in the profession and our students give reason for pride and confidence. Our faculty has shown strength and dedication in teaching and scholarship. Seton Hall University's Board of Regents and its President recognize and support the important role of the law school in the University and in New Jersey. The alumni, in a few short years of re-organization, have shown remarkable concern and generosity. The bench and bar of New Jersey, the public, and the government of the State of New Jersey, have recognized these strengths. Yet our School is still young, our reaching out to alumni, friends, and the public is new, our teaching, while always strong, needs further effort and our faculty research and scholarship need to respond even more to the opportunities now available. The Dean and Associate Dean must exercise strong academic leadership, while the Dean, with help from faculty, administration and students, must increase attention to the larger community, both for the community and the law school.This is to say that the dramatic advances of Seton Hall University School of Law can now continue in a quieter way. As a strong, mature law school with excellent alumni and students, an accomplished faculty and administration, Seton Hall School of Law, in a steady course and as part of the mission of Seton Hall University, which has offered 125 years of Catholic higher education in New Jersey, can continue to advance its service to the legal profession and the public of New Jersey and the nation.Sincerely,DAD/tp

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The Dean\u27s Letter

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