U.S. News & World Report Ranking

[SBA President]

Dear USF Law:

As you know, the U.S. News & World Report released its rankings of the Best Graduate Schools in America and the law school experienced a significant decline.  Like all of you, I am incredibly frustrated and disheartened by the news and it should be clear to all that a detailed explanation and significant changes are in order.  

I have attached to this message (and included below) a letter inviting Dr. Jennifer Turpin, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, to an SBA-sponsored Town Hall Meeting to address the rankings and the University's plan of action.  A copy of the letter was also sent to Rev. Stephen Privett, S.J., President of the University, Dean Brand, and Thomas Malloy, Chairman of the University's Board of Trustees.  I will provide additional details when the Town Hall Meeting has been confirmed.  In the meantime, please feel free to contact me directly with questions or concerns.  

Let me say finally that I believe wholeheartedly in our law school, our mission, and our values, and while I recognize the challenges that lay ahead, I am incredibly proud of our community and have confidence that we will weather this storm and emerge stronger and more vibrant than before.

All the best,

Jamal

--

Jamal H. Anderson

President, Student Bar Association

University of San Francisco School of Law

usflawp...@gmail.com

March 12, 2013

 

Jennifer E. Turpin, Ph.D.

Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs

University of San Francisco

2130 Fulton Street

San Francisco, CA 94117

 

Dear Provost Turpin:

 

On behalf of the Student Bar Association and all of my colleagues at the law school I write to express my serious concerns about the recently released U.S. News and World Report Rankings of the Best Graduate Schools in America, which ranks the University of San Francisco School of Law at 144^th in the nation.  In 2012, the law school was ranked 106th, and when I applied to the law school in 2010, it was ranked 98th.

 

While the rankings do not accurately reflect the truly dynamic nature of our richly diverse and collegial community, or the quality of the legal education provided to students who attend and graduate from the law school, the rankings do matter and the unprecedented decline must be addressed immediately in the most thoughtful, collaborative, inclusive, and transparent manner possible.  It is for this reason that I invite you to join the Student Bar Association for a Town Hall Meeting to discuss the recently released rankings and the University's plan to reverse a disheartening trend. 

 

Every member of our community has a vested interest in the success of the law school and this is especially true for my colleagues and me.  As you are certainly aware, legal education has arguably never been in a more precarious state, and the burden of rising tuition, student loan debt, and an increasingly difficult job market, weighs heavily on those currently and recently enrolled in law school.  While the methodology can be questioned, national rankings that do not reflect the quality of our law school or its students have an effect on us all in tangible and intangible ways alike.  Therefore, we must do all we can together – beginning with an assessment of how we arrived at this point ­– to reverse course.  

 

My fundamental belief in the law school, its mission, and the education it provides has not been diminished by the rankings.  I will always be proud of my affiliation with the University of San Francisco School of Law, as will my colleagues.  However, the law school's pending leadership transition presents the University with an opportunity to tackle significant issues, like the declining rankings, in new and innovative ways.  I hope you will join the students of the law school to hear our concerns and begin a dialogue about these issues, generally, and the rankings in particular.  Thank you in advance for your continued support of the law school.  I can be reached at jhand...@usfca.edu and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

 

Sincerely,

Jamal H. Anderson

President

 

cc:       Rev. Stephen A. Privett, S.J., President, University of San Francisco

            Thomas E. Malloy, Chairman, Board of Trustees, University of San Francisco

            Jeffrey S. Brand, Dean, University of San Francisco School of Law