Two University Law School faculty members are preparing to take unexpected leaves of absence next year as a result of the University’s fruitless search for a new Law School dean, interim Law School dean Margie Paris told law students and faculty at a townhall-style meeting Monday.
Law professors Keith Aoki and Steven Bender are planning to take sabbaticals to “ponder where to take our work where it is appreciated as we heal from these latest wounds to friends,” Bender wrote in an e-mail circulated among University employees. Paris said they both plan on returning after no more than a year away.
Controversy has embroiled the Law School faculty after the University failed to hire Kevin Johnson, the current associate dean for academic affairs at the University of California-Davis. Johnson withdrew from the search after the two other candidates accepted offers elsewhere.
Faculty at the Law School say Johnson was treated differently than the other candidates and question if race played a role in the University’s decision, while University administrators have remained relatively tight-lipped on the issue, saying only that the search process is complex, had nothing to do with race and that they were very disappointed with its outcome.
“What we have here is a Rashomon situation,” Paris said, referring to the 1950 Japanese film in which the truth is difficult to attain because of varying personal accounts.
“The main perceptions are twofold,” she said to the nearly 200 students and faculty present at the meeting. “One held by the Law School community, one held by Johnson Hall. And I say that not to put people in camps to point fingers, but rather just to let you know that that’s my perception of what we’re left with.”
Neither Bender nor Aoki would directly comment on the situation.
A failed search
The University began its search for a new dean in April 2005 and named three finalists early in the 2005-06 school year – Hiram Chodosh, currently the associate dean for academic affairs at Case Western Reserve University’s School of Law , Gail Agrawal, currently the interim dean of the University of North Carolina Law School, and Johnson.
The University first offered the post to Agrawal on January 19, but she accepted an offer at the University of Kansas. The University then asked Chodosh on February 13, but he accepted an offer at the University of Utah.
Paris said the Law School faculty expected an offer to be made to Johnson after the first two candidates accepted offers elsewhere, but instead of a job offer, the University called Johnson back for further interviews, unlike the other candidates.
“This is the point, the beginning of March, that things started happening that raised our concerns,” Paris said. “That (Johnson) was being treated differently.”
Paris said that after the University’s request for Johnson to return for more interviews, there was a “flurry of conversations and concerns” among faculty.
“In response to those concerns, several of us started having conversations with Johnson Hall about what those concerns were,” Paris said. “Why was Kevin not given an offer as the other two were?”
Paris said the University addressed those questions mostly with disclosure of concerns that Johnson would not be effective at the external aspects required of the dean’s position, such as fundraising and alumni relations.
Aoki, who was a member of the dean search committee, said during the meeting that Johnson had more fundraising experience than any other candidate.
“I found the fixation of (University administrators) on fundraising somewhat misleading,” Aoki said. He added that University administrators should have been aware of Johnson’s experience, as the search committee was.
“I would assume that Johnson Hall read his resume just as we did,” he said.
Paris said conversations between the Law School and the University continued for several weeks until Johnson informed the University via e-mail on March 12 that he was going to withdraw from the search. Paris said neither she nor the University received much of a formal reason from Johnson. He told the Emerald last week that he did not find the University to be the best fit, and he said that he was “glad that chapter in my life is behind me.”
A growing concernLaw School associate professor and member of the dean search committee Susan Gary said Johnson’s withdrawal came as a surprise to faculty.
“There was a very widespread, among the faculty, a feeling of, just, dismay, and disappointment, anger,” she said. “The anger and the dismay came in also because Kevin was a man of color, and there were concerns that he was treated differently in the decision making process, and faculty were questioning whether the differential treatment was due to the fact that he is a Latino man.”
She said faculty were concerned that the University overlooked a desirable candidate who could have brought more diversity to campus.
“Things at that point got pretty hot between this school and Johnson Hall,” she said.
On March 14, two days after Johnson announced his withdrawal, the University extended him an offer for the position. Johnson told University administrators March 23 that his decision to withdraw was final.
Lorraine Davis, vice president for academic affairs, previously told the Emerald that the University makes offers to candidates when they feel it is appropriate, and that the University is committed to recruitment and retention of diverse faculty.
“We understand that the outcome of this search may lead some in our community to question whether the university is truly serious about hiring and retaining a diverse faculty. I can assure you we are,” she wrote in an e-mail.
Interim vice provost for Institutional Equity and Diversity Charles Martinez began having conversations with Johnson about Johnson’s feelings on the matter following his announced withdrawal on March 12.
Martinez said between March 12 and March 14, when the offer was made, University administrators became aware that Johnson had more fundraising experience than previously understood, and that he had unanimous support from the Law School community. Martinez also said cultural barriers created misunderstandings between Johnson and University administrators, particularly about how candidates should have raised concerns.
“There is no question, and let me be clear about this: Culture was massively at play in these interactions,” he said. “In terms of whether or not that explains disparate treatment in this case, that’s the open question. And from my conversations with Kevin, that was not the tenure of (it),” Martinez said.
The discussion at the Knight Law Center prompted an emotional response from Aoki, who said he believed that Johnson was sent an e-mail before he withdrew that included an itinerary for his upcoming visit. He said he suspected Johnson was put off by the prospect of an additional meeting with University President Dave Frohnmayer and Vice President for University Advancement Allan Price, a formality that other candidates did not face. He said Johnson felt that Price was more concerned with raising money than the pursuit of academics.
University administrators were not present at the meeting so that students could hear the information from the Law School first before bringing their concerns to University administrators, Paris said.
First-year law student Jumane Redway-Upshur, who attended the meeting, said he felt that a lot of facts are still being withheld.
“I think that the onus is really on the school administration to come to the (Law) School, this year, or release a statement, or at least some kind of communication from the upper administration to the school,” Redway said. “I think they owe that to us, and we’re entitled to it.”
Martinez said he encourages students to confront University administrators, but to be cautious because the situation deals with “real people and real feelings.”
“We need to confront these challenges,” he said.

Contact the higher education reporter at [email protected]