Harvard Class of 2012 Forum

[iagolives]

It's official: Dean Kagan is going to be Pres. Obama's Solicitor General.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.c ... s.business

Any thoughts/ideas on what this will do to Harvard? While I'm excited (as someone who wants to go into government work) to see Harvard affiliates do so well in this new administration, it makes me sad she's leaving because she seems to have done wonders for the school.

[SparkyLives]

wow---that's insanely exciting news for her. Not so much for Hahvahd.

I think it'll be fine. I'm sure the president of Harvard likes what she did and will look for a similar Dean to replace her. Whether he/she will be as effective, however, is another question.

[JackieTreehorn]

I hope they don't get rid of the free coffee.

Seriously though, I think the quality of life improvements witnessed by HLS are here to stay. I do hope they hire a replacement equally skilled at stealing top professors from other schools.

[upsided]

as a public interest bound student, i'm really nervous about her leaving because she did a lot for public interest when harvard was lagging behind before. this makes my decision harder!

[Sesame_Jesus]

I've often wondered if she's related to the neocon Kagans of Yale. Not that it matters much. It's just that that brood has damned many of its spawn in high places

[dueprocess14]

Wow. She was definitely a huge plus for Harvard for me. I wonder how long the search will take to replace her? Definitely would be good to know who will be replacing her before we have to commit!

[iagolives]

Yeah, I'm hoping the search is a short one. I'm coming from an undergrad which has been going through transition after transition in its higher administration for the past 2 years and it really takes its toll on the culture after a while.

[Objection]

Yeah, this is definitely something worth watching.

Kagan was one of the best HLS deans ever and a huge draw for me (and I'm sure for many other admits and applicants, as well).

Will be interesting to watch. Hopefully they find someone before we need to decide.

[jrs12]

Honestly, Kagan has done her job. We'll get to enjoy the fruits of her labor. The fact that she's leaving doesn't mean that the school is going to undo everything that she's done. I'm a little bummed that I won't get to meet her, because I hear she's great, but I have no qualms regarding the state of the institution.

[iagolives]

Honestly, Kagan has done her job. We'll get to enjoy the fruits of her labor. The fact that she's leaving doesn't mean that the school is going to undo everything that she's done. I'm a little bummed that I won't get to meet her, because I hear she's great, but I have no qualms regarding the state of the institution.

Yeah, I'm not worried they'll slash all the quality of life things she's done. The free coffee, I'm sure, is here to stay. What I'm more concerned about is the academic mindset of the faculty she's bred during her tenure. As I mentioned in some other thread, intellectual freedom and diversity is a big thing for me. For years, Harvard was notorious for a factional faculty which struggled to appoint new profs because of partisanship. Not only did Dean Kagan really break this logjam (so I hear) but has gone out of her way to appoint big-name conservatives to the faculty, as well as liberals. I think that this openness stands out as a rather strong contrast against some of Harvard's peer institutions.

I don't mean to sound like Chicken Little; I just hope the next dean has the same priorities as Dean Kagan and is as effective in working then through the faculty.

[jrs12]

I agree completely. The reputed intellectual openness is the reason I'm more interested in Harvard than Yale at the moment. My point is that she already fought that battle. The faculty is huge, and it takes time to change the intellectual and cultural landscape of an institution--even if someone really wanted to.

When someone has been successful, it's much easier to find a replacement who can carry on a legacy, as opposed to someone to turn an institution around. They don't need to find another Kagan to keep things going.

[iagolives]

Good point. Like I said earlier, I guess I'm just skiddish because I've been in the middle of (a lot of) rough transitions in undergrad and was looking forward to some stability, haha.

Thanks for bringing me back to Earth!

[iagolives]

And the Harvard poaching continues...

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nati ... 3754.story

[Objection]

Wow, that really sucks.

Bad week for HLS.

Kind of tempers my enthusiasm for it which had peaked in recent days (don't get me wrong, I'm still enthusiastic).

[iagolives]

I know, again, I'm flattered the incoming administration likes Harvard so much (for obvious reasons) but I'm like "Can't you guys just leave them alone?"

Also, I was looking forward to maybe taking a class from him!

[ndnlawdc]

Man. It has been a bad week for HLS. And with a Chicago decision rolling in... who knows what will happen next fall.

[1004LSAT]

Uh oh, does all this mean no more HLS at #2?

[badfish]

wow congrats everyone, HLS is pretty sweet

[Objection]

Uh oh, does all this mean no more HLS at #2?

No, since I don't see how either of these developments would affect the rankings when you look at USNWR's methodology.

However, HLS was at #2 before Kagan's kickass hiring spree. She hired more than just Sunstein (it can be argued that the Lessig hire is just as big).

HLS is still well under par for the entire course. It has just bogeyed the past few holes.

[iagolives]

Uh oh, does all this mean no more HLS at #2?

No, since I don't see how either of these developments would affect the rankings when you look at USNWR's methodology.

However, HLS was at #2 before Kagan's kickass hiring spree. She hired more than just Sunstein (it can be argued that the Lessig hire is just as big).

HLS is still well under par for the entire course. It has just bogeyed the past few holes.

Haha, nice metaphor.

Yeah, I hardly think Harvard will slip to #3. Its still on an upward climb but maybe just not as steep of one.

[1004LSAT]

OK, forget about the rankings. Do you think Harvard will lose it's popularity?

[Objection]

OK, forget about the rankings. Do you think Harvard will lose it's popularity?

Again, no.

[SparkyLives]

OK, forget about the rankings. Do you think Harvard will lose it's popularity?

It's a 400 year old reputation--it's one of the best known institutions in the world. I don't think it's afraid of that, no.

[1004LSAT]

Alright, one final question. Of those who have been accepted to both YLS and HLS and are on the fence about which school to attend, do you think that the loss of Dean Kagan will move people more toward YLS?

[Objection]

Something like 80% of people who get accepted into both go to YLS anyway. I don't think it will change that much. If anything, I expect that % to be slightly less this year. HLS is on the upswing. Yale has remained relatively stagnant.