Legal News

High Tolerance for Stress? A Law School Deanship Might be for You

By Dan Slater

A tough fundraising environment. The U.S. News rankings. Fickle professors. Being a law school dean ain’t easy. But, for the fearless, there might be a job waiting.

The NLJ reports that, with at least 27 law schools — from Harvard to the University of Arizona to Case Western looking for deans — there’s a big demand for the high-paying job.

It’s due to the stress, hypothesizes the NLJ: “With fundraising plummeting, donors in short supply and state budgets being slashed, law school deans are finding themselves up to their necks in stress. Many have quit in the past year to go back to teaching, which still pays fairly well and has far fewer headaches.” (For a window into some of that stress, see our post from last year on Buffalo Law Dean Makau Mutua’s battle with the U.S. News rankings.)

Thomas Ulen, a professor at the U. of Illinois College of Law, told the NLJ: “Being a dean is less attractive than it used to be. An increasing percentage of the job — upwards of 80 to 90% — is devoted to fundraising. And with the economy in this state, that is not easy. And let’s face it, being a law professor is one of the best jobs in the universe.”

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on February 02, 2009 (boomark / email).