UC Irvine Official on Hot Seat in Dean Case
In a rapid-fire change of circumstances, the UC Irvine official who made a controversial decision to fire a renowned constitutional scholar who had just agreed to serve as dean of the institution’s as-yet-unopened new law school is now himself in hot water.
Some faculty are now calling for Michael Drake, who serves as chancellor of the University of California at Irvine, to resign over his decision to rescind the recommended appointment of Erwin Chemerinsky, a constitutional law professor at Duke University, as law school dean. Meanwhile, there are concerns that the affair will make it difficult for the law school to hire another high-caliber dean and desired faculty, and could delay the law school’s scheduled 2009 opening, reports the Los Angeles Times.
As discussed in earlier ABAJournal.com posts, Chemerinsky says he was told by Drake that the university regents might not confirm him because of his liberal political views, but Drake says there were other unspecified reasons for his decision to look for another dean.
Many of those criticizing Drake’s decision see the situation as a matter of upholding academic freedom against political pressure from an unknown source. An impressive array of legal academics, including well-known conservatives, have rallied to Chemerinsky’s support, saying he is a top-flight candidate who UC Irvine would have been lucky to have as law school dean.
However, other critics are focusing on the way the situation has been handled, according to the Times.
“If it’s a matter of outside pressure, the chancellor should have stood up to that,” says Frank Bean, a social sciences professor. “If it’s a matter of concerns over Chemerinsky, why wasn’t due diligence done? There are no scenarios that one can construct that are acceptable. Rarely are things so clear-cut.”
