The Dismissal of a Law School Dean and the Role of Law School Rankings

Don Guter, the dean of Duquesne Law School was recently removed by the president of the University.  He had been in the position since August 1, 2005.   On this Blog, we do not particularly view personnel changes at law schools to be part of our intellectual mission.  We do, however, view rankings as an appropriate topic for discussion.  Guter's removal, however, has been linked to the rankings so we have opted to discuss the situation.

The dismissal was abrupt and earned a blunt response from Guter.  The resulting letter chronicled his accomplishments at Duquesne: 

• During my short tenure as Dean, we have enjoyed record bar pass rates that rose from 68% at my arrival to 88%, 9l% and 97% in my three years.  These are our highest rates in at least 25 years and rank us second in the state. We also achieved our first ever specialty ranking in U.S. News and World Report, ranking 30th out of 200 law schools in Research and Writing.  Faculty scholarship has risen significantly.  Our ABA visit was the most successful in the school's history. Most recently, we won three straight national moot court competitions, including the Tournament of Champions which makes us the best in the United States.  Our relationship with alumni has never been stronger and giving is robust.  Perhaps most importantly, I brought surcease to a divided and angry faculty and high morale to our students, all in consistent support for the University's mission statement.

The dean apparently places the blame on a personality conflict with the president, noting in his letter the president's "personal animus toward me."  The accomplishments sound impressive and at least with respect to student relations supported by reported reactions to his dismissal (including voting no confidence in the president).

We have no idea what level of personal animus entered into the decision.  The university president attributed the dismissal to "a consistent pattern of failure to meet expectations" but was otherwise vague about the precise nature of the expectations.  A spokesperson for the university did, however, note that: "Overall, we have a fourth-tier law school that has not moved in the U.S. News rankings."

This raises an interesting question.  Are the low rankings of a law school a legitimate reason for removing a dean?  (Again, we repeat, it is unclear how much this played a role in Guter's removal, if at all).  And, even if it is, how long ought a dean to have to show progress?

In connection with Duquesne, the Law School's numbers are weak.  As the Pittsubrg Post-Gazette noted, following a discussion with Robert Morse at US News:

• Duquesne ranked second to last out of 184 law schools in per-student spending on instruction, library and support, Mr. Morse said. It spent 64 percent of what nearby Pitt spends.

• Duquesne's law student-to-faculty ratio, at 18.2 to 1, ranked 160th, Mr. Morse said. Volumes and titles in Duquesne's law library, at 386,540, ranked 153rd.

• Rounding out the six criteria were the school's 145th ranking in the median LSAT entrance exam scores; a 1.9 out of 5 possible points in a category allowing law schools to rate peers; and a 157th place in the share of the Class of 2006 employed full- or part-time nine months after graduation. It was 86.1 percent

With the exception of peer rankings and employment, all of these categories in one way or another are matters of funding.  While incoming class statistics might not seem directly related, they are influenced by the scholarship dollars available, which is a matter of financing.  Published stats indicate that, from 2005 to 2007, the median LSAT score for the entering classes at Duquesne has been declining.

Why does Duquesne have such a significant problem with resources?  Assuming Duquesne is tuition driven, it charges, for a private institution, a relatively low tuition.  Moreover, some portion of that is no doubt taken off the top by the University (the so called rip off factor).  The only way out of the muddle?  Accelerate fundraising, increase tuition rates, or get the University to reduce its take.   All of these are difficult to accomplish at all, much less in a three or four year period.

Rankings matter.  They likely impact admissions and employment (both places were Duquesne seems weak) and possibly fundraising.  In turn, improving a law school's finances can be disproportionately important in the ranking process.  It is unclear the degree to which Guter was forced out because of the Fourth Tier status of Duquesne.  It is likewise unclear how much that status resulted from policies instituted by the main university.  Nonetheless, it seems likely that had Guter raised the rankings of the Law School he would have been more insulated from removal.  That is probably the take away from this for other deans, if there is any.

Comments

[DULaw Grad]

The university president unilaterally raised law school tuition by over 7% in the current year, while not increasing the budget at all. If ranking is determined in part by how much is spent on students, then it is clear the administration meant to sabatoge Guter.

[Vince Collaso]

A case of conflicting numbers, but the university should have moved on this earlier if the numbers really were that pitiful.