Rutgers asks former VP to speak at commencement

[Tango Two]

"The Rutgers Board of Governors votes to confirm the commencement speaker each year. We eagerly await Vice President Biden's decision to set that process in motion," Smith said.


http://www.nj.com/education/2017/10/heres_the_politician_rutgers_asked_to_be_2018_comm.html

 

[retired711]

Biden was the commencement speaker at the law school in Camden before he became Vice-President. He was long-winded and offensive.

 

[NotInRHouse]

lol I knew you wouldn't like this camden, but it is an honor, even though Biden's JD is from Cuse (when it was a much better law school).

 

[retired711]

lol I knew you wouldn't like this camden, but it is an honor, even though Biden's JD is from Cuse (when it was a much better law school).

Biden was in the lower half of the law school class. What is your basis for saying Syracuse has slipped? I hope you're relying on something other than the silly US News ratings.

 

[NotInRHouse]

Biden was in the lower half of the law school class. What is your basis for saying Syracuse has slipped? I hope you're relying on something other than the silly US News ratings.

I think we have to rely on them because law firms do.

 

[retired711]

I think we have to rely on them because law firms do.

No, we don't. The fact that other people rely on bullshit doesn't mean that sane people have to do the same.

 

[NotInRHouse]

No, we don't. The fact that other people rely on bullshit doesn't mean that sane people have to do the same.

OK. So what would you rely on?

 

[retired711]

I'd try to rely on my impression of the applicant if I were hiring, and of the faculty and students of the school if I were thinking of applying to law school. I certainly wouldn't rely on bad methodology.

 

[T2Kplus10]

Biden was the commencement speaker at the law school in Camden before he became Vice-President. He was long-winded and offensive.

And most of his speech was probably plagiarized.

 

[retired711]

And most of his speech was probably plagiarized.

Biden's remarks were original but not very good -- he talked about Iraq and had a solution that made no sense. But I get your point.

 

[NotInRHouse]

I'd try to rely on my impression of the applicant if I were hiring, and of the faculty and students of the school if I were thinking of applying to law school. I certainly wouldn't rely on bad methodology.

Well- all things being equal, if you had fresh grads with same GPA and experience but different law schools.

 

[retired711]

Well- all things being equal, if you had fresh grads with same GPA and experience but different law schools.

All things are never equal in considering job applicants. There is no such thing as two candidates who are the same except for what law school they went to. Only a very poor interviewer would ever conclude that. That said, the last thing I'd rely on would be BS rankings derived from an improper methodology.

 

[NotInRHouse]

All things are never equal in considering job applicants. There is no such thing as two candidates who are the same except for what law school they went to. Only a very poor interviewer would ever conclude that. That said, the last thing I'd rely on would be BS rankings derived from an improper methodology.

So here is a question then, when hiring professors, do you think the law school they went to is considered?

 

[retired711]

So here is a question then, when hiring professors, do you think the law school they went to is considered?

No one is out there saying, "U.S. News ranks this school #1 and the other one #20, and so we should disfavor the candidate from #20." Yet that is the kind of thing that users of the rankings do. Moreover, where one went to law school -- we have a distinguished professor who went to law school at Buffalo -- is less important than what one has done since and how well one does in his/her interviews and presentation.

 

[HALL85]

No one is out there saying, "U.S. News ranks this school #1 and the other one #20, and so we should disfavor the candidate from #20." Yet that is the kind of thing that users of the rankings do. Moreover, where one went to law school -- we have a distinguished professor who went to law school at Buffalo -- is less important than what one has done since and how well one does in his/her interviews and presentation.

Agree with you. Where someone went to school is a consideration but not the primary hiring factor. I look for cultural fit, applicable skills, etc. I'm also of the belief that it's good to have diversity even by educational background/schools. I've had the good fortune to work for some pretty successful people (Fortune 50 type's) and if I look at their undergrad college, most were not Ivy or blue blood.

 

[NotInRHouse]

No one is out there saying, "U.S. News ranks this school #1 and the other one #20, and so we should disfavor the candidate from #20." Yet that is the kind of thing that users of the rankings do. Moreover, where one went to law school -- we have a distinguished professor who went to law school at Buffalo -- is less important than what one has done since and how well one does in his/her interviews and presentation.

I agree- but I think it is a factor. Most of my professors in undergrad and law school went to an Ivy, or T14 for law, though one my favorite law professors went to Suffolk, and in both cases when I took classes at night I found there were more part time professors who were less Ivy inclined and more experience based. But wouldn't you say most full time faculty at say, the top 100 law schools, have roots in the T14?

 

[retired711]

I agree- but I think it is a factor. Most of my professors in undergrad and law school went to an Ivy, or T14 for law, though one my favorite law professors went to Suffolk, and in both cases when I took classes at night I found there were more part time professors who were less Ivy inclined and more experience based. But wouldn't you say most full time faculty at say, the top 100 law schools, have roots in the T14?

That's probably true, but clearly no one is blackballing applicants by saying "the school's US News rating was declining while the person was there" or anything of the kind. Your own example of a Suffolk professor illustrates that.