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Welcome Message from the President
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The Oliphant Commission
On Wednesday, September 1, 1976, at 9:20 A.M., the American Bar Association's Rule Four hearing commission convened at the Thomas M. Cooley Law School.
There were three commissioners; the Chairman, Professor Robert E. Oliphant of the University of Minnesota Law School, Professor Frances Farmer, the head librarian at the University of Virginia Law School, and John E. Nolan, Jr., an attorney from the District of Columbia. In addition, Dean James White, the Consultant to the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admission to the Bar, was in attendance as consultant to the Commission.
We had decided that we would treat the Commissioners as quasi judicial officers. The old Red Room, which stretched across the West end of the sixth floor of the school building was outfitted as a courtroom. The Commissioners were to be seated on a raised platform in the center of the room. Counsel tables and a witness chair were set up before the tribunal. A court reporter was retained. We were ready.
Professor Oliphant began by stating that the hearing was to be closed and that there would be no sworn testimony. I took immediate exception, and the Chair ruled that we could allow anyone we wanted to attend, and that if we wanted our witnesses to testify under oath, that was our privilege.
At the outset, I pointed out that Cooley had been provisionally approved by the House of Delegates of the American Bar Association in 1975, and I insisted that since vested rights of our students were at stake, the law school was entitled to due process of law before any decision to withdraw our accreditation could be made.
That due process, I pointed out, involved essentially three things: an impartial tribunal, an objective standard against which we were to be measured, and a fair opportunity to be heard.
Chairman Oliphant then assured us that the Commission would be interested in dealing with each of the concerns expressed by the Council in Jim White's March 23, 1976, letter to me, and that it would want to hear our position on all of the claimed deficiencies detailed in the Coco report.
The Chairman then listed some forty-one exhibits we had submitted, including a copy of the Standards adopted by the American Bar Association. We made it clear that we didn't want to be judged by the subjective opinions of the members of the Commission.
And so began our presentation. Bob Fisher and Bob Krinock, our two Associate Deans were sworn as witnesses and took the lead, calling on 17 witnesses who, step by step and paragraph by paragraph, answered every charge contained in the Coco report and the Council's letter.
Roger Imeson, lead partner of Danielson and Schultz, our certified public accountants, described our financial statements, pointing out that they were prepared in the manner required by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. He patiently detailed the various items of asset and liability and explained them in simple terms understandable by anyone. Bill Schoettle, our capable controller, established his educational and experience credentials, and explained the Cooley budget process. Those two witnesses, along with Dean Bob Fisher, completely debunked the Coco report's assertion that Cooley's finances were questionable.
Lou Smith, then serving as President of the law school, took the oath and testified concerning our faculty and administrative salaries. He presented evidence of the other 14 independent law schools, all of which enjoyed ABA approval, and showed that Cooley's level of compensation was not only competitive, but was in fact higher than the average.
Jack Cote', a former President of the law school, testified that during the Coco team's visit, its chairman had suggested that Cooley needed to hire an educational consultant; that he, himself was available for such work and even mentioned the amount of his regular per diem fees. He made clear that we did not take kindly to such impropriety.
Peter Kempel, our founding librarian, defended his role ably, and along with Deans Fisher and Krinock completely refuted the reckless charge contained in the Coco report to the effect that Cooley did not have a full time librarian. Professor Farmer opined that she didn't think that a head librarian should have any teaching duties. We reminded her that the Standards permitted librarians to teach, and while she held to her views, I was satisfied that she would not impose her personal opinion on us.
Phil Marco, our Board Chairman, and Barry DeVine, President of the Alumni Association added their important perspectives on employment of our graduates.
Finally, we treated the Commission to a parade of our senior faculty members; Roger Needham, Jack Rooney, Pete Jason, Ron Trosty, Don LeDuc, Elliot Glicksman, Bill Weiner and Quenda Story; every one of whom demonstrated professional competence, leaving no doubt about the quality of our teaching staff. Fred Abood spoke for our large cadre of adjunct teachers.
Responding to questions by Dean Krinock, each of them testified that the Coco team spent little or no time observing them in the classroom or engaging them in private conversations.
I was pleased to show Jim White our solidarity and determination.
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This Page was last updated on:
08/19/2004