Law School Academic Support Blog

ASP Opening in Little Rock

Here's a great opportunity for someone who would like to take a program from inception to implementation:  the University of Arkansas at Little Rock is looking for an Assistant Dean for Academic Support to create an ASP Program.  The position is described below. (dbw)

The UALR Bowen School of Law is seeking an Assistant Dean for Academic
Support to plan and implement an academic counseling program to facilitate
academic success including individual academic advising for law students,
group and individual academic support programs, and bar passage programs for
law students.  The ideal candidate will be an energetic and knowledgeable
professional exhibiting a high degree of organizational skills, sensitivity
and integrity.

Qualifications include a Bachelors degree with appropriate major and J.D.
At least two years of professional experience, preferably in higher
education academic counseling and academic program development with a
comparable, demonstrative, successful track record are preferred.

Duties and responsibilities include but are not limited to academic
counseling of students as needed, monitoring student progress, administering
and strengthening existing orientation and academic success programs, and
developing and implementing a bar passage rate improvement project for the
School.

To apply, send a cover letter, resume and references to: Charles W. Goldner,
Jr., Dean, Bowen School of Law, 1201 McMath Avenue, Little Rock, Arkansas
72202.  Screening of applications will begin immediately and continue until
the position is filled.

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock is an equal opportunity,
affirmative action employer and actively seeks the candidacy of minorities,
women and persons with disabilities.  Under Arkansas law, all applications
are subject to disclosure.  Persons hired must have proof of legal authority
to work in the United States.

A Great Opportunity!

How does Boston sound?  If you are looking for a tenure-track position as a director of academic support in one of the country's best cities, New England School of Law may be looking for you.  Below is the position posting, along with contact information. 

DIRECTOR OF ACADEMIC SUPPORT

NEW ENGLAND SCHOOL OF LAW, in Boston, is looking to hire a director of academic support to develop, teach, and evaluate academic support programs.  We want someone who is dedicated to providing academic support; experience in the field would be an advantage.  The director of Academic Support will work closely with the coordinator of our Charles Hamilton Houston Committee and with the rest of the faculty.  This is a faculty position, with a salary commensurate with qualifications.  Applicants should send a cover letter and resume to Professor Judith Greenberg, jgreenbe@fac.nesl.edu.

New England School of Law is an equal opportunity employer and invites applications from all interested persons. (dbw)

Need Inspiring Stories?

Do students sometimes show up in your office with tales of woe that almost (or do) bring tears to your eyes?  Dollars to donuts you haven't heard a story quite like this one . . .

"Reclaiming a Dream" is the name of the article on the last page of the March 2006 issue of California Lawyer.  I guess I read it because of the author's unlikely first name.

Cupcake.  Yup.

This Cupcake is rather special, I discovered.  Who is she?  Well, during much of her life, these appellations were appropriate: "Dope fiend, gangsta, prostitute, crook, high schoold dropout, drunk." 

You've heard the expression, "She had it all."  Cupcake Brown had none of it.

What a life. According to a New York Times review of her recent book, "Ms. Brown describes discovering her mother's dead body as an 8-year-old. She traces every terrible thing that later happened back to this catastrophic loss. The man she called Daddy turned out not to be her biological father, and so he lost custody of Cupcake. The man she called Sperm Donor handed her over to foster care in California. Bounced from place to place, she was abused not only by Cinderella's wicked stepmother but by yet another father figure, a man who took her to the parking lot of a Kmart for sexual assignations at 12. She never made it to cheerleading practice."

After 14 years of working the streets, "You could see the imprint of my ribs — I was a size 1. I had no shoes. My hair was sticking up like Buckwheat. My lips were cracked and burnt from the crack pipe," Ms.Brown, 40, told the San Francisco Chronicle. "It was then that I realized that I was dying, and I didn't want to die like that."

Now, Cupcake Brown is referred to by her clients and judges before whom she appears as "counsel."  As an antitrust litigator with one of the largest law firms in the country, Ms. Brown, a magna cum laude graduate of the University of San Francisco School of Law, is not only a busy lawyer, but also a busy speaker.

Her memoir, A Piece of Cake, was published last month.

Cupcake? According to Oprah Winfrey's web site Ms. Brown's unlikely first name is the result of a nurse's misunderstanding of her mother's post-delivery request for a snack.

In the California Lawyer article, Ms. Brown writes, "The journey was well worth it. I tell my story openly on the chance that others will find hope and inspiration in it."  Maybe some of your students will.  (djt)

Position Opening in California

University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law invites applications for the non-tenured track position of Director of Academic Support Programs for the 2005-2006 academic year.  The Programs focus on first-year students, advanced students needing additional assistance, and students preparing for the bar examination; the Director also teaches the Principles of Agency course to first-year students.

The salary offered will be commensurate with qualifications and experience. 

The search committee will accept applications through April 8, 2005.  McGeorge anticipates the starting date of employment as July 1, 2005.  Persons of color and women are especially encouraged to apply as are all others with traits that would add diversity to the faculty. 

Contact:  Timothy E. Naccarato, Assistant Dean of Academic Programs, University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, 3200 Fifth Avenue, Sacramento, CA 95817.  Telephone: 916-739-7399; Fax: 916-739-7272; Email: tnaccarato@pacific.edu.       (djt)

What Do you Do for a Living?

Some of us are professors who have been assigned Academic Support tasks instead of a traditional doctrinal class assignment.  Some of us are part-time.  Others are directors, co-directors, associate directors, or assistant directors of Academic Support Programs.  Most of us are/were lawyers, but others have been educated in different areas: psychology and education for example (oh, aren't there times in every week when we all envy them?).

When we get together at regional or national conferences, most of us are surprised at how wide-ranging the Academic Support world is.  Spend a few minutes to describe what you do for a living, so the rest of us (especially those new to the profession) can develop a better picture of the career path we are on.