Nurturing faculty research and scholarship is a top priority for the law school.  Several new initiatives are helping faculty break new ground

Naismith, Veronica L.

English

Digital Commons @ UM Law

Iholarship(\\ community of scholars, our faculty b on the leading edge of criticalissues ill hm and public policy. Several new initiatives are helping tonurture' their srounrlh 'r' in!! work.BY VERONICA L. NAISMITH]D FALL 2005 22V>Q)Ol"'EGOod ideas take time. And time, thesaying goes, is money. These tru-isms apply in academia just as theydo in business, govern~ent, the arts, andalmost any human endeavor. For theSchool of Law, finding resources andstrategies to support the faculty's ambitiousscholarly agenda is a consummate chal-lenge. Generous support from alumni andfriends is making all the difference."As we brought our campaign for thenew building to a close," says Dean KarenRothenberg, "we knew that we needed tomake the same kind of investment inhuman capital that we were then making inour physical plant." To guide that invest-ment, Rothenberg appointed a special fac-ulty committee, the Dean's AdvisoryCommittee on Professorships, and chargedit with investigating new ways to use facul-ty development resources. The committeeconducted a comprehensive review of thepolicies and practices adopted by leadinglaw schools across the country to supportfaculty scholarship. Irs recommendationsled to the creation of a program of three-year, rotating professorships, which willallow selected members of the faculty toreceive recognition and time to focus ontheir scholarly activities. In addition, theSchool of Law initiated a new endowedprofessorship, a new distinguished visitorsprogram, and an expanded program ofsummer research grants.The Robert F. StantonProfessorshipWhen the Advisory Committee on Profes-sorships met last fall, they solicited nonominations for the newest endowed pro-fessorship; instead, the committee consid-ered every full professor at the School ofLaw for the distinction of being named theRobert F. Stanton Professor of Law. Thecommittee selected Robert Percival for thathonor. The Stanton Professorship resultsfrom a major new endowment at the lawschool-it is a permanent professorshipawarded to Percival as a result of his inter-national reputation as a leading environ-mental scholar.Robert Percival was awarded a new endowed professorship for his work as an internationalenvironmental scholar."It was a fantastic honor and I certainlyappreciate it," Percival says. "The thing thatmakes it so gratifying is that I didn't lobbyfor it. I'm so grateful that my colleaguesgave it to me." The professorship includesfunds for conferences and travel. Moniesare also available to bring foreign scholarsto the law school to feed Percival's expan-sive international work.Percival's name is recognized around theglobe as a leading authority in environmentallaw. He has contributed to national environ-mental policies, and has lent his expertise tomany task forces and committees. Law stu-dents across the country know his name asthe principal author of the country's mostwidely used casebook in environmental law.The book is being used internationally,including in Shanghai, China, where Percivalspent a week in March of this year visitingand lecturing at several area law schools.China was but one stop during a busyyear of travel that included lectures in Thai-land, Kenya, Japan, Australia, and Chile,where Percival helped create South America'sfirst environmental law clinic. He is workingto establish a global network of environmen-tal law professors to tackle some of the plan-et's most pressing issues. Climate changetops that list, although another trend,according to Percival, is the merging of envi-ronmental and public health issues, such astobacco use and avian flu."I have visited virtually every continent,and it is very gratifying that the rest of the23world is moving forward in these areas evenif the U.S. isn't," he says."We increasingly focus on internation-al environmental activities," he explains,adding that more and more students arecoming to Maryland because of this inter-national perspective. Last April, Percivaldelivered the inaugural Robert F. StantonProfessorship Lecture entitled "The Stateof Environmental Law in the 21 sr Centu-ry." He assessed the current state of envi-ronmentallaw and its prospects in thenew millennium.New Rotating ResearchProfessorshipsWith the School of Law's new program ofthree-year, rotating professorships in place,the Advisory Committee on Professorshipsalso assisted Dean Rothenberg in selectingthe first research professors. The commit-tee, which includes both junior and seniorfaculty, pored over the applications it hadreceived from faculty colleagues, lookingfor particularly ambitious and significantprojects. They made their final recommen-dations to Dean Rothenberg, who enthusi-astically appointed Rena Steinzor as thefirst Jacob France Research Professor andGordon Young as the first MarburyResearch Professor."Many other law schools do not havesuch a collegial review process for selectingnamed professors. Our process demonstratesDean Rothenberg's commitment to includ-JD FALL 2005ing the faculty in this type of decision-mak-ing," says Richard Boldt, associate dean forresearch and faculty development. "We haveattracted highly recruited new faculty mem-bers, in part, because word has spread thatwe really area place that values collegiality.It's been an advantage to us in recruiting andretaining the very best faculty."teach, students to counsel, and administra-tive tasks to juggle, he lacked the time nec-essary to tackle such a large-scale project."If! show up here to teach, I'll get drawninto the intellectual and social life of thisplace which I love, so I must take a semesterto really focus on my scholarship," Youngsays. He is very interested in learning aboutpublished by the Cambridge Press. She isalso writing Mother Earth and Uncle Sam:How Pollution and Hollow GovernmentHurt our Kids, forthcoming from the Uni-versity of Texas Press.Steinzor's work often crosses disciplinarylines. She teaches a course in critical issues inenvironmental law and science with studentsSteinzor's work often crosses disciplinary lines-she teaches students fromnursing, medicine, law, and public health backgrounds. "We're teachingwhat we're writing about, which is ideal in academia."Greg Young is delighted with his newappointment, and with the fact that theseresources will be available to other deserv-ing faculty on a rotating basis. Throughouthis teaching career, Young has exploredtopics ranging from constitutional law andfederal jurisdiction to federalism and cor-porate governance. While intellectuallystimulating and a boon for the law school'sreputation, Young aspired to look criticallyat broader issues that would link the nar-rower topics he'd been writing about foryears. But with a full load of classes tothe use oflegislative motive in assessing theconstitutionality of statutes, as well as howthe Supreme Court's levels of scrutiny analy-sis works in areas not governed by more pre-cise rules."Greg's project is really a capstone proj-ect involving big questions in constitutionallaw and theory," explains Boldt. "It culmi-nates a long period of active scholarshipand will bring a lot of attention to Greg andthe law schoo!."The scope of Rena Steinzor's project is noless ambitious. With two books currently inprogress, Steinzor alsoplans to take a semesterbreak from teaching towork on her scholar-ship. As one of thenation's leadingauthorities in publichealth and the envi-ronment, Steinzor haswatched the regulatoryprocess become sopolarized and con-tentious that theintegrity of scienceitself is threatened."We need clean,clear, good sciencemuch more now thanat any time in humanhistory," she says, not-ing that warring inter-ests have so muchmoney at stake thatsome manipulate sci-ence to gain desiredoutcomes. Steinzor iscompleting an editedvolume called Rescu-ing Sciencefrom Poli-tics, which will beRena Steinzor plans to finish up two books.J D FALL 2005 24from nursing, medicine, law, and publichealth backgrounds. Many are workingtoward a joint degree in law with a master'sin public health or toxicology."We're teaching what we're writing about,which is ideal in academia," Steinzorexplains, adding that scholarship is a majorcriterion in the way law schools are perceived."It's not just important to the students whoare here now. It translates into more opportu-nities for graduates and continues to beimportant to them until the day they retire."The DistinguishedVisitors ProgramNew voices enliven a scholarly community.The opportunity to work with and learnfrom distinguished peers from the largerlegal academy enriches lively collegial dia-logue and brings fresh perspectives and newinsights. The law school's new DistinguishedVisitors Program invites distinguished aca-demics from both legal and non-legal disci-plines, as well as prominent judges and legalpractitioners, to join the School of Law com-munity for short or longer-term academicvisits. These visits include opportunities towork with students and faculty, conduct"mini-symposia," and otherwise make pre-sentations to the law school community ontopical issues. The first group of Dis tin-guished Visitors will begin their appoint-ments this fal!."The first cohort is impressive-national-ly and internationally known scholars of thefirst rank," says-Boldt. "And their eagernessto join us speaks volumes to the caliber of thefaculty here at the law schoo!." The visitorsrepresent a diverse array of fields.Dorothy Roberts is the Kirkland &Ellis Professor of Law at the NorthwesternUniversity School of Law and a prolificscholar on issues related to child welfareGreg Young will explore broad constitutional issues.policy, criminal law, family law, criticalrace theory, and feminist theory. She willbe a short-term distinguished visitor dur-ing the fall 2005 semester.Professor Roberts' scholarly interestsare a terrific fit with a great deal of thelegal work and applied scholarship underway in the School of Law's Clinical LawProgram, and also will support the grow-ing concentration in family law that isdeveloping at the law school. ProfessorRoberts is a longtime friend of the Schoolof Law, whose interest in a visit stemsfrom the school's history of importantscholarship on race and gender. Thisincludes work by Taunya Banks, KarenCzapanskiy, Sherrilyn Ifill, Jana Singer,and the Women, Leadership and EqualityProgram, directed by Paula Monopoli.Stephen Bainbridge, a professor oflawat UCLA, will also be a distinguished visi-tor during the fall 2005 semester. ProfessorBainbridge's work covers a variety of sub-jects, but with a strong emphasis on thelaw and economics of public corporations.He has agreed to spend a week at the lawschool in the fall 2005 semester in connec-tion with a business law conference theschool is hosting. The resources of ourBusiness Law Program, includ-ing Professors Lisa Fairfax andRichard Booth, make ProfessorBainbridge a natural partner.Maxwell L. Stearns is a pro-fessor of law at the GeorgeMason University School ofLaw. Professor Stearns is aleading expert on publicchoice theory, constitutionalprocess, and federal jurisdic-tion. As a recent speaker at alaw school faculty workshop,Stearns was heard to quip thathe engages in "political sciencewithout a license." He is theauthor of two well-regardedbooks and many articles,including articles in theMichigan Law Review, the YaleLaw [ournal, the University ofPennsyLvania Law Review, theCaLifornia Law Review and,most recently, the Stanford Law Review.Professor Stearns will be a distinguishedvisitor at the law school for the entire2005-2006 academic year. He will teach anew course on public choice theory and asecond new course on advanced federaljurisdiction topics. His visit here will allowhim to explore common interests withmembers of the law school faculty whowork in public law, constitutional theory,and jurisprudence.Kendall Thomas is the Nash Professorof Law and foundi ng co-director of theCenter for the Study of Law and Cultureat Columbia University in New York. Pro-fessor Thomas will be a distinguished vis-iting professor at the University ofMaryland School of Law for the fall 2006semester. His teaching and research inter-ests include U.S. and comparative consti-tutionallaw, human rights, legal philosophy,feminist legal theory, critical race theory,and law and sexuality. Professor Thomas'swork in law and culture, law and sexuali-ty, and international public health com-plements work being done by UM lawschool faculty. He will teach courses inthose areas and will deliver a public lec-ture during his visit.Expanded SummerResearch GrantsWhen the academic year ends in May,many members of the law school's facultyfind that their most productive scholarlywork begins. Long, focused days with timefor research and writing make the summera great time for faculty members to delvedeeply into the most vexing questions ontheir scholarly agendas. Summer researchgrants-merit-based grants designed tosupport ambitious scholarly projects duringthe summer months-provide much need-ed support for this work and permit theSchool of Law to remain competitive withthe peer institutions with which we com-pete for new young talent."Dean Rothenberg's commitment toincreasing funds for summer research grantsis matched only by the faculty's enthusiasmfor the work they support," says Boldt. "Fac-ulty submit proposals for summer projectsthey would like to fund. The increasingscope, quality, and inventiveness of the proj-ects in these proposals is a real measure ofthe good this program is doing." This year,grants supported thirty-six faculty workingin a broad range of specialties.Hallmarks of Faculty DevelopmentCollegial support is vital to the continuedsuccess of the School of Law and to the aca-demic mission of its faculty. The school's pro-fessors are grateful to its alumni and friendsfor the support they've received, and recog-nize that these supporters are partners in thebroader mission they are undertaking."We are constantly reinventing our-selves in order to keep the law school at thecutting edge," Boldt stresses. "You look atBob Percival, who is a leader in studyingthe policy implications of trans-boundarypollution. Ifhe didn't have terrific support,it would be more difficult for him toremain a leading voice in this field. We arecommitted to providing academic leader-ship at the local, state, national, and inter-national levels. Bob is a perfect example ofhow to get that job done."Veronica L. Naismith has been covering LegaLissuesfor more than twenty years.I 25 JD FALL 2005

Cultivating Scholarship

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Cultivating Scholarship

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