Thursday, March 7, 2013

The Venns of Faculty Governance


I see that Professor Campos is finished with his effort to expose the Law School Scam.  I read his blog once or twice but felt like I knew and agreed with most of what he was saying so I did not keep up.  Judging by some of his enemies, how wrong could he be?

Frankly, I am pretty much out of gas on my far more modest Classbias blog too. It has always had a goal that was a bit different than that of Professor Campos. Its goal was to reveal the persistent and destructive effects of institutions run by elites for their own ends.

Here is one more effort to explain the problem.  The people I know can be placed along a continuum. At one end are the "demanders." These are the folks who feel entitled to virtually everything and "demand" that their desires be met. Slipping along the continuum we come to the "askers." What ever they can think of, they ask for. At the far end are the people who do not demand or ask. If you know anything about relative deprivation, you know that to demand or ask you have to be in a context in which things are perceived as possible for people like you. For example, I remember a few years ago when two new faculty hires were told they would be given a certain sum for moving expenses. The reaction of one way, "What? They will actually pay for me to move. What a great surprise." The reaction of the other was "I cannot possible move for such a small amount." The important thing to note is that there is no correlation between need, merit, productivity, student welfare or institutional success and a person's position on that continuum.

In addition, administrators say yes to these requests and demands for a host of reasons other than student or institutional welfare. For example, an administrator may say yes just to avoid the harassment or to make sure he or she is not accused of 'insensitivity" to one political group or another. Or, the administrator may be concerned that the asker/demander is capable influencing others to believe he or she has been unreasonable.

Here is my best try at using Venn diagrams to illustrate the problem. The larger two circles are things people ask for or demand and reasons administrators say yes. The smaller circles within each one show things asked for or demanded that are consistent with student or institutional welfare and the times administrators say yes for reasons related to student or institutional welfare. That tiny overlap in the middle shows how much these interest coincide. A much larger area indicates when requests and demands that have nothing to do with student or institutional welfare get a yes answer.


Cross-posted at Classbias

The International Criminal Court Summer School 2013





















The
Irish Centre for Human Rights at the School of Law at the National University
of Ireland, Galway has announced the details of the International Criminal
Court summer school 2013. The
lectures are given by leading academics on the subject and by legal
professionals working at the International Criminal Court. The summer school is
attended by legal professionals, academics, postgraduate students and NGOs.
Participants are provided with a detailed working knowledge of the
establishment of the Court, its structures and operations, and the applicable
law. Participants are also given the opportunity to network with the speakers
throughout the week. Lectures also speak to related issues in international
criminal law, including: genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, the
crime of aggression, universal jurisdiction, immunities, and the role of
victims.





This
year’s list of speakers is:




  • Professor
    William Schabas- Irish Centre for Human Rights, School of Law, NUI Galway and
    School of Law, Middlesex University

  •  Mr. Fabrizio Guariglia- Head of Appeals
    Division of the Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court

  •  Dr. Mohamed M. El Zeidy- Legal Officer for
    Pre-Trial Chamber II at the International Criminal Court

  •  Dr. Rod Rastan- Legal Adviser at the Office of
    the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court

  •  Professor Siobhan Mullally- Professor of Law,
    University College Cork

  •  Professor Ray Murphy- Irish Centre for Human
    Rights, School of Law, NUI Galway

  •  Dr. Noelle Higgins- Irish Centre for Human
    Rights, School of Law, NUI Galway

  •  Dr. Nadia Bernaz- Senior Lecturer, School of
    Law, Middlesex University

  •  Dr. Annyssa Ballal- Graduate Institute Geneva

  •  Mr. John McManus- Counsel /Avocat, Crimes
    Against Humanity and War Crimes Section Canadian Department of Justice

  • Professor
    Megan A. Fairlie- Professor of Law, Florida International University

  • Dr. Mohamed Elewa Badar- Senior Lecturer, School of
    Law, Brunel University



































For
more information and to register please visit the Centre's website at http://conference.ie/Conferences/index.asp?Conference=199
or email iccsummerschool@gmail.com.