Dobranski: Money Not The Reason
Thu, May10, 2007 - Category: School of
Law
Thursday May 10, 2007
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Said Mr. Dobranski: "We've done well here [in Ann Arbor]. We've thrived here. But I think we will thrive even more there. If there wasn't a financial benefit, I'd still be enthusiastic about moving because it will provide the law school with such a unique opportunity."
So, the Dean is so sold on AMU and the Town that he'd uproot the School even without Monaghan's still un-documented "promise" to share home-sale proceeds with the School?! This is big news.
The Dean's central motivation and rationale are slowly being revealed. His aforementioned statement reinforces the notion that he and the Law School Board have been acting on pretense - that the decision to uproot the School to Mr. Monaghan's Florida real estate development is not, in fact, based primarily on the School's financial benefit in the deal.
The basis for the move appears to be peeling down to one foundational reason - because duty to Tom Monaghan's desire supersedes all other duties of the institution. As Judge James Ryan, one of Monaghan's Board members, said in a room full of faculty among other nodding Board members: "We [the Board] are just here to help Tom spend his money," and "We all need to remember that this is Tom's enterprise." (New Oxford Review, Sept. 2003)
Chronicle - full text (subscription login required), or try also
Click below for excerpts.
UPDATE, 5/11/07 - Be sure to also note how the Dean has: denied the existence of the Falvey Report [1,2]; denied that the ABA was investigating his administration; contradicted himself repeatedly on how long the Board has been considering a move to Monaghan's real estate development
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Said Mr. Dobranski: "We've done well here [in Ann Arbor]. We've thrived here. But I think we will thrive even more there. If there wasn't a financial benefit, I'd still be enthusiastic about moving because it will provide the law school with such a unique opportunity."
So, the Dean is so sold on AMU and the Town that he'd uproot the School even without Monaghan's still un-documented "promise" to share home-sale proceeds with the School?! This is big news.
The Dean's central motivation and rationale are slowly being revealed. His aforementioned statement reinforces the notion that he and the Law School Board have been acting on pretense - that the decision to uproot the School to Mr. Monaghan's Florida real estate development is not, in fact, based primarily on the School's financial benefit in the deal.
The basis for the move appears to be peeling down to one foundational reason - because duty to Tom Monaghan's desire supersedes all other duties of the institution. As Judge James Ryan, one of Monaghan's Board members, said in a room full of faculty among other nodding Board members: "We [the Board] are just here to help Tom spend his money," and "We all need to remember that this is Tom's enterprise." (New Oxford Review, Sept. 2003)
Chronicle - full text (subscription login required), or try also
Click below for excerpts.
UPDATE, 5/11/07 - Be sure to also note how the Dean has: denied the existence of the Falvey Report [1,2]; denied that the ABA was investigating his administration; contradicted himself repeatedly on how long the Board has been considering a move to Monaghan's real estate development
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Fair-use Excerpts [comments in brackets]:
"We'll be moving to an area of the country that not only is growing but economically prosperous, with a large and growing Catholic population," said Eugene R. Milhizer, associate dean and associate professor of law. Being located near Ave Maria University, a Catholic institution, will benefit students and faculty members, he said, and the law school will have the advantage of being the only one in the area.
[being "near" AMU? that should be "in" AMU]
Ave Maria University has been plagued by administrative turmoil and student-recruitment troubles in recent months, and is not yet accredited.
***
"The place was really moving and doing well," said Charles E. Rice, a professor emeritus at the University of Notre Dame Law School who believes his opposition to the move cost him his job at Ave Maria. "Morale was great, and then we get this announcement that Tom wants to move the school to Florida, where there was nothing there to receive it."
"The faculty immediately had questions about the move, and they were basically told to shut up," said Mr. Rice, who was a member of the founding governing board at Ave Maria's law school until the administration instituted two-term limits -- a move he believes was intended to boot him off.
"You'd be leaving Ann Arbor, Mich., which is a great intellectual center, and going down to Corkscrew Swamp," he said, referring to a sanctuary near Immokalee. "Go figure."
**
The dean called those accusations "absurd." He said he had replaced the committee chairs because they were not doing a good job and decided not to renew Mr. Rice's contract as a visiting professor after he circulated another letter that disparaged the Board of Governors. Mr. Dobranski said that he had no problem with faculty members' publicly disagreeing with the decision to move to Florida, but he added that he would not tolerate actions that "undermine" the law school.
[could the Dean please offer an example of a public disagreement on the moving to Florida that he would not consider undermining? this is obvious double-speak]
**
Chris McGowan, AMSL 2003 class - Stressing that he was speaking for himself and not the alumni board he serves on, he added: "I was excited that we were going to be engaging in a secular society, but moving to Ave Maria, Fla., would be running away to live in a cocoon."
Fair-use Excerpts [comments in brackets]:
"We'll be moving to an area of the country that not only is growing but economically prosperous, with a large and growing Catholic population," said Eugene R. Milhizer, associate dean and associate professor of law. Being located near Ave Maria University, a Catholic institution, will benefit students and faculty members, he said, and the law school will have the advantage of being the only one in the area.
[being "near" AMU? that should be "in" AMU]
Ave Maria University has been plagued by administrative turmoil and student-recruitment troubles in recent months, and is not yet accredited.
***
"The place was really moving and doing well," said Charles E. Rice, a professor emeritus at the University of Notre Dame Law School who believes his opposition to the move cost him his job at Ave Maria. "Morale was great, and then we get this announcement that Tom wants to move the school to Florida, where there was nothing there to receive it."
"The faculty immediately had questions about the move, and they were basically told to shut up," said Mr. Rice, who was a member of the founding governing board at Ave Maria's law school until the administration instituted two-term limits -- a move he believes was intended to boot him off.
"You'd be leaving Ann Arbor, Mich., which is a great intellectual center, and going down to Corkscrew Swamp," he said, referring to a sanctuary near Immokalee. "Go figure."
**
The dean called those accusations "absurd." He said he had replaced the committee chairs because they were not doing a good job and decided not to renew Mr. Rice's contract as a visiting professor after he circulated another letter that disparaged the Board of Governors. Mr. Dobranski said that he had no problem with faculty members' publicly disagreeing with the decision to move to Florida, but he added that he would not tolerate actions that "undermine" the law school.
[could the Dean please offer an example of a public disagreement on the moving to Florida that he would not consider undermining? this is obvious double-speak]
**
Chris McGowan, AMSL 2003 class - Stressing that he was speaking for himself and not the alumni board he serves on, he added: "I was excited that we were going to be engaging in a secular society, but moving to Ave Maria, Fla., would be running away to live in a cocoon."