Abstract

In the Annual Report for last year, I indicated that I planned to devote the 1986-87 report to a review of the preceding decade and attempt to provide an historical perspective to this period. It is an appropriate time to undertake this review, for on October 14, 1986 I marked my tenth anniversary as Dean of the School of Law. Counting my service as Acting Dean in 1972 through 1974, I have served this Law School as administrative head for thirteen years, a span of time characterized by much change and development in American legal education.

This past year was started with a two-prong purpose: first, to consolidate the gains made over this thirteen-year period, and, secondly, to meet the remaining goals which were set into motion in earlier years. I will devote a considerable portion of this summary to commenting on the theme of "instructional effectiveness" as called for in the memorandum asking for this year's unit reports for submission to the President of the University and to the Board of Regents. Institutional effectiveness is described by both a process and a set of measurements: the planning for and evaluation of expected outcomes. It is essential to start with a definition of expected results. In the case of the Law School's institutional effectiveness, we began with the questions: "What are we looking for when we say that we seek a plateau of excellence?" Secondly, "What will it take to achieve that plateau?" and thirdly, "What can we do to assure that the level of performance will not erode once we have achieved that plateau?"

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