The "Weakest Link"

[Ulla1]

With the recent drop in ranking of our Business School, I was thinking about the leadership of our several schools. I met the Dean of the business school a year or so ago, and honestly was not impressed. Look at the resumes of the other Deans. Is it time to replace the "weakest link"?

Dean of Arts and Sciences - Patrice Rankine - Ph.D. in classical languages and literature, Yale University; Master of Arts and Master of Philosophy in Classical Languages and Literatures, Yale; Bachelor of Arts, Brooklyn College, City University of New York. Published three books, dozens of articles and book reviews; received numerous awards, honors and grants; and delivered presentations and lectures at dozens of national and international academic conferences.


Dean of Law School- Wendy Collins - B.A., Wellesley College 1975, J.D., Duke University School of Law 1978. Perdue’s scholarship spans a number of areas including civil procedure, conflict of laws, land use and public health. Her publications include two case books and numerous articles and book chapters. Before joining the Law School as Dean in 2011, she was an Associate Dean and Professor of Law at Georgetown University Law Center. Dean Perdue has also served on the Duke Law School board of visitors and on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Legal Education.

Dean of Jepson School of Leadership Studies - Dr. Sandra J. Peart – B. A., M. S., Ph.D., in Economics, University of Toronto. A national leader with special expertise in the history of economic thought and political economy. Dr. Peart is president of the International Adam Smith Society, a former president of the History of Economics Society, and co-director of the annual Summer Institute for the History of Economic Thought.


The “Weakest Link”

Dean Robins School of Business - Dr. Nancy Bagranoff - A.A., Briarcliff College, B.S., Ohio State University, M.S., Syracuse University, D.B.A., George Washington University. Began her career at General Electric Company in Financial Management Training Program. Passed the CPA examination in the District of Columbia. Taught at several universities, including American University, Miami University, and Old Dominion University where she was Dean of the College of Business and Public Administration. Has 8 publications.

Dr. Bagranoff is the "weakest link". OSC

 

[32counter]

We are rich enough to hire anyone we want.We have taken a feminist approach up to now for all our Deans.Get real,practical business personel to run the B school.Hire someone from Wall Street,Darden,NYU,Wharton or Chicago.Pay them a lot.Hire someone with real business experience that have run companies.No more idealistic,theoretical soft teaching nonsense.Bet we are highly organized and have all papers in order.That makes upper hierarchies happy.

This ratings downgrade will not help.Climbing out of that hole won't be easy.The mystique of our exclusivity has been shattered when JMU finishes ahead of us academically,in anything.

My fear has been that UR's teaching upper echelon spends a lot of time managing up to hierarchies to please superiors rather than managing down.Sometimes you do that when you're rich.We are rich.

B school objective is to get jobs for the B graduates at high salaries that prospective employers want to hire.That's why our ratings have tanked.Seems those B students are unprepared for the realities of meaningful employment.Competition in the employment marketplace is cut and dry and fierce,especially among graduating business students.

I could personally never be an academician.Too slow,too theoretical,too out of touch with how the real world works and gets things done.

 

[MolivaManiac]

We gave Nancy a 10 year extension after a more positive ranking a few years back. We're stuck with her through 2023 unless someone has the money to buy her out.

 

[Ulla1]

We gave Nancy a 10 year extension after a more positive ranking a few years back. We're stuck with her through 2023 unless someone has the money to buy her out.

IMHO, Mo, that is too bad. Talking with her, she was not an impressive person, certainly lacked charisma and intellect. Got the feeling that she was the type that got her reports in on time and did whatever she was told to do. OSC

 

[iSpider]

I think that Mo was being facetious or sarcastic. Surprised that the Ulla missed that.

 

[Ulla1]

Got me! OSC

 

[BillyWayne]

All five are women. I thought the strategic plan called for more diversity. How about a man?

 

[AnnapSpider]

Unfortunately, our board has gotten to the point where "political correctness" outweighs ability.
But look at the bright side, we'll be able to bring in some "marginal" athletes.

 

[SFspidur]

All five are women. I thought the strategic plan called for more diversity. How about a man?

I count four in the list, and the most recent addition, Patrice Rankine, is indeed a man.

 

[WebSpinner]

heck, we all use the same bathroom, who cares??

 

[BillyWayne]

I count four in the list, and the most recent addition, Patrice Rankine, is indeed a man.

You're right. My bad. Was a history major, always struggled with cyphering! Just guessing on Patrice because of the name. I will say, however, that I know Wendy Perdue at the Law School and she's top notch.

 

[Hanca]

Not impressed with Perdue. Bar pass rates have TCW in 6th place.

 

[BillyWayne]

IMO, bar pass rates reflect little on law school quality, but more on the quality of the bar review course the students take.

 

[iSpider]

IMO, bar pass rates reflect little on law school quality, but more on the quality of the bar review course the students take.

I agree. My brother, who attended UVA law school, often says that he learned the law during his bar review course which he took in Richmond. When pressed, he sticks to his guns and insists that it was the first time he could understand the world in which he would subsequently be dealing.

 

[FrontRoyalSpider]

Speaking of TCW, why did the university drop the name The TC Williams School of Law ? I hope it was not due to some PC bull crap! My dad, Joseph R. Johnson Jr was a TCW L1952 and a member of the McNeil (sp?) Law Society! He also played football for the Spiders. UR class of 1949.

 

[SFspidur]

They typically use Richmond Law now for branding purposes to promote a unified identity for the university.

 

[iSpider]

Speaking of TCW, why did the university drop the name The TC Williams School of Law ? I hope it was not due to some PC bull crap! My dad, Joseph R. Johnson Jr was a TCW L1952 and a member of the McNeil (sp?) Law Society! He also played football for the Spiders. UR class of 1949.

FRS, the University dropped the name TC Williams when it was discovered that more students at this high school passed the Virginia Bar Exam than anyone from the law school, current posters excepted.


REMEMBER THE TITANS

 

[Hanca]

very nice, iSpider

 

[BillyWayne]

Also named after an entirely different T.C. Williams.

 

[iSpider]

Also named after an entirely different T.C. Williams.

You are correct.

The High School Namesake TC Williams:
T. C. Williams High School is a public high school in Alexandria, Virginia, near Washington, D.C. The school has an enrollment of about 3,300 students. It was named after former superintendent Thomas Chambliss Williams of Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS), who served from the mid-1930s to the mid-1960s.

The Law School Namesake TC Williams:
The University of Richmond School of Law (T.C. Williams School of Law), a school of the University of Richmond, is located in Richmond, Virginia. Richmond Law is considered "highly selective" by US News & World Report, top tier by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, among the top twenty law schools by the National Jurist, and one of the Princeton Review's Best Law Schools of 2016…
The school was founded in 1870 as a college within the University of Richmond. In 1890, the family of the late T.C. Williams, a university trustee, donated $25,000 as the nucleus of an endowment for the law school. In recognition of this gift, the school was named The T.C. Williams School of Law in 1920. In recent years, the school has adopted the name "University of Richmond School of Law" in order to promote a unified identity for the university.
Wikipedia

But who is T.C. Williams? I mean, really, who is this guy?
I Googled T.C. Williams and after eight pages, all referencing the high school, I came upon with the following:

Lumpers at the TC Williams & Co., Tobacco, Richmond, VA- (Lithograph-Library of Congress).

http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2001705850/

There is also some information on TC Williams at William & Mary Library's collections:
See http://scdb.swem.wm.edu/?p=creators/creator&id=2583

The New York Times was impressed by the purchase of TC Williams & Co. by the British-American Tobacco Co.
See: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9407E2DD1339E333A2575BC0A9639C946297D6CF

His son, I am assuming, TC Williams, Jr., apparently inherited a bundle and was responsible for bringing Agecroft Hall from abroad to Richmond:
See: http://www.agecrofthall.com/View.as...ons/objectofthemonth/june2015objectofthemonth

So our law school TC Williams made a lot of money as a local tobacco magnate. But other than making a lot of money by killing probably hundreds of thousands of Americans and Brits with his product, I can find nothing otherwise remarkable about him. Unless....unless you consider that he started a tradition, one that continues to this day. Money seems to be the sole criterion upon which we name our buildings and our schools and the sole criterion for getting named to our Board of Trustees, with perhaps one exception which would be the token Baptist Minister. But I am not sure we even have a Baptist Minister these days. Rumor has it that we are pursuing Joel Osteen and Billy Graham to fill that spot.

"Jesus doesn't want you to be rich."
Yeah, I know, tell me about it.

 

[WebSpinner]

i, you are amazing but am sure you know that. you have that liberal narrative down in every aspect of your life.

 

[iSpider]

i, you are amazing but am sure you know that. you have that liberal narrative down in every aspect of your life.

Hell, Spinner, my friends consider me moderately conservative. Really. What do you think there is about my post which makes it demonstrative of a liberal view? Seriously, I don't see anything that I stated or implied which would be taken as a liberal view. Maybe I should have posted memes about Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton who are also both super rich "pastors." Believe me, I dislike them as well and I was not playing the race card.

BTW, you are in Houston, right? Well, say hello to Joel for me.
I have driven by his palace once or twice.
Spent some time in Sugarland, but most nights I was in the city. Great place but Galveston is my favorite. At least in the Lone Star State.

 

[iSpider]

i, you are amazing but am sure you know that. you have that liberal narrative down in every aspect of your life.

Here you go. This "liberal" is color blind.

 

[SFspidur]

This is our TC Williams:

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=17081917

 

[iSpider]

This is our TC Williams:

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=17081917

Damn, a liberal. Don't tell Spinner.
Good find SF, as usual.

 

[WebSpinner]

i, you regurgitate all of the buzz words that i hear from all my lib buds. the same narrative, the same words. it is like the dems send out texts to all on their team with what to say, what words to utilize. have many friends who are libs, like them but easy to ID them.

 

[iSpider]

Spinner, I see that I did not win you over with my memes about Al and Jesse. In truth, those memes represent my beliefs about them. In any event, winning you over is way down on my agenda.

It may be that you will continue to have your mistaken beliefs about me and it doesn't matter because I truly am what you would consider a liberal in some areas, and proud to be so. No disrespect to you or your political positions, and with great deference to your age (and wisdom), I suspect that the differences we might have are more generational than political. I realize that it is not likely to happen, but I do think you would be better received by me and others on both sides of the aisle if you would soften your obsession with denigrating political correctness. You really take this to the extreme sometimes.

But what is most important with respect to what you and I believe and post on this forum is that I most always agree with the insights of your posts with respect to Spider Athletics. I respect that you have a history and a knowledge base superior to most and that despite what you say your love for the University of Richmond is always what you have in mind.

In the political area, while I align myself with the progressives on most social issues, I view myself a conservative on most fiscal, foreign policy and national defense issues, probably more of a hawk than you. I confess that I sometimes feel inadequate when discussing economic issues such as trickle down and supply side economics and their possible long-term benefits or detriment, as the case may be. One of my regrets is that I never took a course in economics when an undergrad. In view of my ignorance in that area, I often have to research what you and others are talking about.

As to whether I might be considered a republican in part, I can only say that I am going to wait and see what emerges as the party platform after Trump and Ryan have it out, but regardless, I can tell you now and will again in November, that I am a never Trump, never Clinton person.

I agree with Mitt Romney's and John Boehner's assessment of Trump, and I agree with what Chris Mathews said with regard to Hillary, i.e., that she would never have been elected a senator in NY except for the fact that she was the husband of the President. I also believe that Trump was spot on (a rare occasion, indeed) when he said that she is playing the "woman card," despite my wife's insistence that it just ain't so. I would love to see a woman as our president, but not Hillary. Her election to the Senate serves to show what money, power and prestige can buy you. I also agree with Bernie Sanders that she has a history of bad judgment, but I am most opposed to her because of my dislike of her husband and the fact that she is nothing more than a career politician who has consistently behaved in a manner which panders to what she perceives as her future constituency and future position. I have never heard her or her husband express themselves in a genuine manner about their beliefs and have concluded that they, like Trump, do not have beliefs. They have positions and their positions are entirely based upon their calculations of what it will take to get them where they want to be.

I find it almost criminal that the Republicans are so screwed up that they cannot put forth a better candidate when so many promising republicans are around. I find it sad that Hillary is the best the democrats can offer, and I find it despicable that Hillary was basically agreed upon by them as the party's nominee in 2007.

Paul Ryan or Michael Bloomberg (or one of many others) should be the republican nominee and either/any would have a great chance at being elected president. How did we get to where we are today? I cannot fathom the current situation, and I am still very confused not only about how it happened and where we are, but also about where we go from here, how it will be, and what I should do with my ballot.
All I can say is what a f_ _kin' shame and hope that something more reasonable and palatable emerges to quell the current insanity before November.

 

[Ulla1]

iSpider, well stated. OSC