tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36806700.post9217489503898223148..comments2023-10-26T01:39:57.979-07:00Comments on Nancy Rapoport's Blogspot: A short history lessonJim Chenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07826239123270878626noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36806700.post-2099760626032773472008-08-31T07:47:00.000-07:002008-08-31T07:47:00.000-07:00Thanks very much, Anonymous 2--I sure appreciate y...Thanks very much, Anonymous 2--I sure appreciate your kind words!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15642624069253492561noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36806700.post-59590544481347502582008-08-29T22:16:00.000-07:002008-08-29T22:16:00.000-07:00I graduated from the Law Center in 2002, and my th...I graduated from the Law Center in 2002, and my three years there were some of the best of my life. I had some great teachers (and, of course a few not so great teachers) and I got to spend a lot of time around a number of really smart and talented people. While I never personally interacted with Dean Rapaport, I felt the school was moving in the right direction. I was happy with the emphasis on attracting faculty with stellar credentials who were also great teachers. I also was impressed that, from my perspective, Dean Rapaport was student-centric in her approach to management. <BR/><BR/>Having been aligned with and against lawyers who went everywhere from Texas Southern to Yale, I can say I don't feel UH cheated me in any way. <BR/><BR/>I guess I want to say that I appreciate what Dean Rapaport did for my law school. The anonymous detractor doesn't mention anything specific, which I find a little suspect. If all he or she cared about was rankings, he or she should have gone to Yale.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36806700.post-55498081735913117962008-08-27T16:17:00.000-07:002008-08-27T16:17:00.000-07:00I am neither a faculty member nor a person to whom...I am neither a faculty member nor a person to whom you said no regarding a pet project. If I had never met you, I wouldn't bother posting on your blog. <BR/><BR/>If you'd rather focus on the fact that I choose to post anonymously, you may do so of course. It's probably easier for you to think that I am a person with a grudge who takes comfort in lobbing charges across the Internet without fear of personal reprisal than to consider your own issues.<BR/><BR/>You are correct that you can't interpret my message without knowing exactly who I am. But then, that is the point - your interpretation would be affected with my identity known. Frankly, it wouldn't matter if you knew who I was, you would still do the same thing you did in your reply - directing the blame/responsibility to me. Rather than answer what I said with thought and reflection, you decide to post about my lack of courage in not being my name on my comments. Deflection doesn't make the issues any less real.<BR/><BR/>Whether you listen to my comments or not doesn't affect me personally. It is only you who is affected by your own issues. Best of luck.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36806700.post-71647670868533152802008-08-27T08:02:00.000-07:002008-08-27T08:02:00.000-07:00Dear Anonymous UH Alumnus:I spent a little time th...Dear Anonymous UH Alumnus:<BR/><BR/>I spent a little time thinking about whether I'd respond to your email, and I've decided to do so. <BR/><BR/>I've often said, in print and in person, that I made several mistakes while I was dean. Most deans do, and most deans are comfortable admitting that they make mistakes. But I also raised record funds for the Law Center while I was there, including significant funds from formerly absent alumni donors (and some record-breaking totals in annual giving), and I worked with the faculty to hire fourteen great new faculty members. Those new faculty members have changed the Law Center for the better, and I hope that the school is able to keep them and keep the momentum of the school going.<BR/><BR/>One of the hallmarks of being a dean is being able to stand up and take responsibility for things, Anonymous. I don't buy, even for a moment, your claim that you want me to hear your message separate from your identity. You could be a well-meaning alumnus with a message, or you could be someone with a grudge who takes comfort in lobbing charges across the Internet without fear of personal reprisal. <BR/><BR/>All of us interpret events based on our own experiences, and I can't interpret your message w/o knowing whether you were someone whose path I crossed (maybe I said "no" to a pet project of yours, or maybe you're one of the faculty members--who could also be counted among UHLC alumni--who never liked what I did as dean) or someone I never met. If you really want me to listen to what you have to say, Anonymous, have the courage to sign your comments with your name.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15642624069253492561noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36806700.post-87250010372389411022008-08-26T17:08:00.000-07:002008-08-26T17:08:00.000-07:00You should give the former students of UH more cre...You should give the former students of UH more credit than to assume they "allowed themselves to get worked into a dither by a few manipulative people..."<BR/><BR/>Long before the events that preceded your departure, there was much talk among students of your ineffectiveness as a dean. During my tenure as a student at UHLC, I had the unfortunate experience of speaking with many alumni, who, upon finding out that I was a UHLC student, would say that they hoped Dean Rapoport would soon be leaving. I had no idea what to say to that so I said nothing. Unfortunately, because I had dealt with you directly a number of times, I began to have the same feelings as the alumni.<BR/><BR/>What is interesting to me is that you have never taken any sort of responsibility for what you did wrong at UHLC, you've only discussed the faculty member who hated you, the students who are "easily manipulated" and the unfairness of the rankings.<BR/><BR/>I am not, by any means, saying that you were entirely at fault, but the events in the week preceding your departure were dramatic and odd. No other dean or faculty member had generated the negative feeling that you had. Why is that? Perhaps you should consider using this situation as a teachable moment for yourself rather than continuing to blame others with no mention of your own culpability. <BR/><BR/>This is not to say that others involved in this situation do not have their own guilt to contend with and their own regrets, but you can do nothing about them. You can change only yourself and some time spent in deep reflection about what you could have done differently to better the situation. What was your role in this? A question that can only be answered by you and an answer that can only, hopefully, benefit your future endeavors. <BR/><BR/>I do hope that UNLV is a better environment for you and that you are able to move on with a clearer understanding of the lessons your very public, and sad, teachable moment bestowed upon you.<BR/><BR/> - A UHLC Alumni<BR/><BR/>A note: in case you wonder why I am posting this anonymously, it is because I would like you to consider the message rather than the messenger. When ideas are presented that are difficult to take in, the message tends to get lost in the feelings the messenger generates.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com