I find it funny that Tim wins even though he’s not here. I would be insulted if I was one of the finalists that didn’t win. Oh well, good for Tim. He was the best. He should win an award just for turning a blind eye to the many “files” encountered on the 3L guys’ computers.
Why would you be insulted? Tim just left, like, a week ago! It’s not as if he’s being given an award when he wasn’t here for the most of the year or something. Personally, I voted for him. I felt he deserved the award as a sort of farewell gift. A rousing send-off, if you will.
3 cheers for Tim Gritten. No one deserved it more or was more helpful to students here. I’m a bit sad that neither of the Bellias was even in the finals, let alone won, for Professor of the year. But then, they were only hear for a semester this year.
Alas, there was no “Blog of the Year” award. :) Though I have a feeling I may win “Most Likely To Miss Class For Two Weeks In A Row” in the unofficial 3L superlative voting. :)
I think there’s some “stick-it-to-the-administration”ness in the Gritten vote. As in, “Yes, he was the best staff member, and for some reason NDLS couldn’t give him a sweet enough deal to keep him around.” I know, maybe there’s nothing that could have been done to keep him, but I think many students harbor a little resentment that one of the most valuable and helpful staff members of the law school has disappeared, regardless of who, if anyone, is at fault.
I have to disagree with you on that Derek. Tim saved our butts so many times over the last three years when our computers crashed and did other weird things that no one really compares to him. Don’t get me wrong, Debbie’s cookies are awesome, but in law school, having a laptop that works is key. I would give people the benefit of the doubt on this one.
If Chuck Robowski had won last year, then I would agree…
Well, I don’t know how much we really disagree. As I said, I agree that Tim’s “one of the most valuable and helpful staff members,” but I did have conversations with more than one student who’d planned on voting for Tim simply because he was gone, regardless of any other candidate. Of course, his butt-saving ability certainly makes him among the most deserving of the award.
I would say the reason AJ didn’t fare well in the balloting is that our class only had two chances to have him — Fed Courts and Federalism — and it was pretty much the same 20 or so 3Ls in both classes. Sadly, too many in our group missed out on the Greatness That Is AJ — as our collective lack of contracts knowledge shows.
As for Tricia, she’s tougher to explain, since she had half of us for Con Law, several for Cyberlaw, and a good chunk of us for Admin Law. I’m working on a theory.
I agree with Derek that there was probably a Gritten Surge due to his departure. He might well have won even if he’d stayed, but the fact that he left eliminated any question.
The good news is that, like Jordan and Jackson leaving the Bulls, Tim’s departure now means Anne and Debbie and Heather Moriconi and others can get the recognition they deserve. :)
Finally — it’s just awesome that Mason won Prof the Year. She totally deserves it — she’s a natural teacher and an indisputably huge new asset for the school.
My understanding is that she wasn’t even necessarily thinking about an academic career when the Dean offered her the visiting position last year.
If that’s true, then it may be the single BEST thing Patty’s done in her tenure — maybe even almost enough to excuse all the other screwups.
“As for Tricia, she’s tougher to explain, since she had half of us for Con Law, several for Cyberlaw, and a good chunk of us for Admin Law. I’m working on a theory.”
Individual preference. Exposure does not guarantee adoration.
Of course. My point only was that lack of exposure does not explain Tricia’s case, while arguably it does explain (or, at least, is a non-trivial factor in) AJ’s.
Okay, everybody, while I must say I’m a wee bit uncomfortable with all the candid pro- and con- talk about professors that’s been going on around here lately, at least I can rest assured that something that’s said on my blog about a prof probably isn’t going to seriously impact their careers. Plus, profs are somewhat public figures. (The latter argument also applies to Jimmy, in a sense, for “putting himself out there” with the whole Observer kerfuffle.) However, let’s try not to start personally bashing and spreading gossip about our fellow students, okay? Nobody deserves to have random insults by anonymous commenters strewn about the Internet for future employers to find (devoid of context) via Google. Have a little empathy and that will be obvious to any fellow law student.
Such comments will be deleted, and if some of you think that’s censorious of me, too bad. This blog is a lot of things, but it’s not a forum for students to anonymously air their private personal grievances about one another.
I don’t understand the prof of the year award. Its not for the best scholar, or it would always be Finnis. I never had Mason. Has she published anything?
Mason hasn’t published anything since her student note (73 N.Y.U. L. Rev. 621), although she has several projects underway. However, as you note, it’s not about scholarship. It’s about teaching. In two years, Mason has established herself as one of the most outstanding teachers on the faculty. This award is entirely deserved.
Given that Mason applied for an advertised visiting fellowship teaching position, I’d say she was probably interested in an academic career. Indeed, if you read the interview with her in the last alumni magazine, you’ll see that she sought out the academic career. She has said that she didn’t know at the time if she’d like it or be any good at it; turns out she’s totally freaking awesome at it.
Her gig at NDLS is her first teaching job ever. She was originally hired for a two-year fellowship for people transitioning into legal academia starting in 05-06. She was in practice before that, so, no — she hasn’t published anything. One aspect of her original appointment was that she would teach only one class a semester so that she’d have plenty of time to devote to research. And she’s pretty serious about it — she worked her first research assistant so hard that the person didn’t renew for second semester because they couldn’t commit to the time she wanted. The response to her teaching skill was so overwhelmingly positive that her term fellowship was converted into a full-time position before the end of the 05-06 academic year and she was a finalist for Teacher of the Year last year too.
I hope she has a long career as a law professor at NDLS. Given that she just got engaged to a local, I’d say there’s a good possibility.
Tricia and AJ are great too, no doubt. AJ won the award in 2003, his third year on the faculty. Tricia’s time will come, as will Rick Garnett’s. Just depends on the class.
Oh, and Teacher of the Year is a student award, meaning that the recipient is determined by student vote. Recent winners were Amy Barrett (06), Jay Tidmarsh (05), and A.J. Bellia (03). I can’t remember who it was in 04 — Velasco, maybe?
Good lord. There you go again, NDLS2006 — you clearly have a pathological need to prove how much you “know” and/or have the last word, even though you’re just as clearly clueless.
First of all, nothing in the alumni magazine story on Mason either supports your claim that she “sought out” an academic career, OR disproves my claim that she hadn’t thought about the position until Dean O’Hara asked her to consider it.
(Okay, looking back, I said the Dean “offered” it to her — it would have been more accurate to say “encouraged her to apply.” My point stands.)
Secondly, you seem not to grasp the concept of there being an “official” version of various events, whether it was Mason’s hiring or Roboski’s ouster, that is as odds with what “really” happened. You seem to think you know what “really” happened, but the vast majority of the time you’re just giving the “official” story, as has been amply documented elsewhere. This is another case in point — everything in the alumni magazine is perfectly accurate, but it doesn’t tell the whole story. And as it turns out, things *do* happen in this building that you aren’t told about.
Finally, you say “She was in practice before that, so, no — she hasn’t published anything” as if that proves a single thing. Ask Brian Murray or Julian Velasco about publishing while in practice, just to name two.
I will never understand why, given the fact that you seem to agree with most of us most of the time, that you insist on elevating hyper-technical points of disagreement to such levels of discourse. Especially since you so clearly have no idea what you’re talking about on such issues, and there’s no way you can not be aware of it.
And anyway, isn’t there a federal law violator somewhere in Newark you should be focusing your time and energies on?
More to the point, if several people are using the same name to post here, which then generates confusion or contradiction when people compare your comments to a) other things you’ve said, or b) the truth, I fail to see how it’s my problem, or anyone else’s, when you come off looking like a fool as a result.
Serious discussion about problems at my school and an attempt at collaborative efforts to rectify them? Yeah, I take that seriously. Would that more of us did.
Just so we can trace it back a few years without getting into more rampant guessing or recollections:
‘06 A. Barrett
‘05 Tidmarsh
‘04 Kirsch
‘03 A.J. Bellia
‘02 Rice
‘01 M. Barrett
‘00 Rougeau
‘99 Schiltz
‘98 Gunn
‘97 Robinson
‘96 Murphy (posthumously)
‘95 Tidmarsh
‘94 Rice
Prior to that included several Ripples, along with a Rice and a Blakey.
I only recently learned of the honor you bestowed upon me. First, thank you for your very kind sentiments. As much as I might enjoy the ND boxer shorts, :) I appreciate your farewell gift most of all. You have been a great collection of individuals to work with, and I shall miss that. The Notre Dame community in all its capacity always made me feel like a valuable contributor, but I was given an opportunity to advance my professional career in a town much closer to my family. Besides, after working with you guys, what more could I accomplish? :)
April 25th, 2007 at 3:56:21 pm
I find it funny that Tim wins even though he’s not here. I would be insulted if I was one of the finalists that didn’t win. Oh well, good for Tim. He was the best. He should win an award just for turning a blind eye to the many “files” encountered on the 3L guys’ computers.
April 25th, 2007 at 4:08:55 pm
Why would you be insulted? Tim just left, like, a week ago! It’s not as if he’s being given an award when he wasn’t here for the most of the year or something. Personally, I voted for him. I felt he deserved the award as a sort of farewell gift. A rousing send-off, if you will.
P.S. Heh.
April 25th, 2007 at 5:50:09 pm
3 cheers for Tim Gritten. No one deserved it more or was more helpful to students here. I’m a bit sad that neither of the Bellias was even in the finals, let alone won, for Professor of the year. But then, they were only hear for a semester this year.
April 25th, 2007 at 6:35:20 pm
Where is YOUR award Brendan….slacker!
April 25th, 2007 at 6:41:02 pm
Alas, there was no “Blog of the Year” award. :) Though I have a feeling I may win “Most Likely To Miss Class For Two Weeks In A Row” in the unofficial 3L superlative voting. :)
April 25th, 2007 at 6:54:05 pm
I think there’s some “stick-it-to-the-administration”ness in the Gritten vote. As in, “Yes, he was the best staff member, and for some reason NDLS couldn’t give him a sweet enough deal to keep him around.” I know, maybe there’s nothing that could have been done to keep him, but I think many students harbor a little resentment that one of the most valuable and helpful staff members of the law school has disappeared, regardless of who, if anyone, is at fault.
April 25th, 2007 at 7:27:16 pm
I have to disagree with you on that Derek. Tim saved our butts so many times over the last three years when our computers crashed and did other weird things that no one really compares to him. Don’t get me wrong, Debbie’s cookies are awesome, but in law school, having a laptop that works is key. I would give people the benefit of the doubt on this one.
If Chuck Robowski had won last year, then I would agree…
April 25th, 2007 at 7:38:10 pm
Well, I don’t know how much we really disagree. As I said, I agree that Tim’s “one of the most valuable and helpful staff members,” but I did have conversations with more than one student who’d planned on voting for Tim simply because he was gone, regardless of any other candidate. Of course, his butt-saving ability certainly makes him among the most deserving of the award.
April 25th, 2007 at 9:55:46 pm
Robert Rodes wuz robbed.
April 25th, 2007 at 10:09:07 pm
Tim has won that award numerous times in the past. In fact, I believe he won it last year.
April 25th, 2007 at 10:13:56 pm
It’ll be a four-peat. He won it in ‘04, ‘05, and ‘06.
April 25th, 2007 at 10:55:21 pm
Anne Hamilton really needs to get some love. She’s a great asset.
April 25th, 2007 at 10:58:57 pm
She won in ‘02 and ‘03, before being dethroned.
April 25th, 2007 at 11:05:58 pm
I would say the reason AJ didn’t fare well in the balloting is that our class only had two chances to have him — Fed Courts and Federalism — and it was pretty much the same 20 or so 3Ls in both classes. Sadly, too many in our group missed out on the Greatness That Is AJ — as our collective lack of contracts knowledge shows.
As for Tricia, she’s tougher to explain, since she had half of us for Con Law, several for Cyberlaw, and a good chunk of us for Admin Law. I’m working on a theory.
I agree with Derek that there was probably a Gritten Surge due to his departure. He might well have won even if he’d stayed, but the fact that he left eliminated any question.
The good news is that, like Jordan and Jackson leaving the Bulls, Tim’s departure now means Anne and Debbie and Heather Moriconi and others can get the recognition they deserve. :)
Finally — it’s just awesome that Mason won Prof the Year. She totally deserves it — she’s a natural teacher and an indisputably huge new asset for the school.
My understanding is that she wasn’t even necessarily thinking about an academic career when the Dean offered her the visiting position last year.
If that’s true, then it may be the single BEST thing Patty’s done in her tenure — maybe even almost enough to excuse all the other screwups.
April 25th, 2007 at 11:40:10 pm
“As for Tricia, she’s tougher to explain, since she had half of us for Con Law, several for Cyberlaw, and a good chunk of us for Admin Law. I’m working on a theory.”
Individual preference. Exposure does not guarantee adoration.
April 25th, 2007 at 11:48:10 pm
Of course. My point only was that lack of exposure does not explain Tricia’s case, while arguably it does explain (or, at least, is a non-trivial factor in) AJ’s.
April 26th, 2007 at 12:01:56 am
3L No. 108–fair enough re the exposure argument. I agree with your first point, that AJ likely suffered from lack of exposure.
April 26th, 2007 at 12:09:02 am
[response to deleted comment]
Okay, everybody, while I must say I’m a wee bit uncomfortable with all the candid pro- and con- talk about professors that’s been going on around here lately, at least I can rest assured that something that’s said on my blog about a prof probably isn’t going to seriously impact their careers. Plus, profs are somewhat public figures. (The latter argument also applies to Jimmy, in a sense, for “putting himself out there” with the whole Observer kerfuffle.) However, let’s try not to start personally bashing and spreading gossip about our fellow students, okay? Nobody deserves to have random insults by anonymous commenters strewn about the Internet for future employers to find (devoid of context) via Google. Have a little empathy and that will be obvious to any fellow law student.
Such comments will be deleted, and if some of you think that’s censorious of me, too bad. This blog is a lot of things, but it’s not a forum for students to anonymously air their private personal grievances about one another.
April 26th, 2007 at 1:15:43 am
I don’t understand the prof of the year award. Its not for the best scholar, or it would always be Finnis. I never had Mason. Has she published anything?
April 26th, 2007 at 8:32:28 am
Mason hasn’t published anything since her student note (73 N.Y.U. L. Rev. 621), although she has several projects underway. However, as you note, it’s not about scholarship. It’s about teaching. In two years, Mason has established herself as one of the most outstanding teachers on the faculty. This award is entirely deserved.
April 26th, 2007 at 9:34:09 am
“at least I can rest assured that something that’s said on my blog about a prof probably isn’t going to seriously impact their careers. ”
Depending on your definition of “impact,” I would not be so sure about this.
April 26th, 2007 at 11:32:07 am
Given that Mason applied for an advertised visiting fellowship teaching position, I’d say she was probably interested in an academic career. Indeed, if you read the interview with her in the last alumni magazine, you’ll see that she sought out the academic career. She has said that she didn’t know at the time if she’d like it or be any good at it; turns out she’s totally freaking awesome at it.
Her gig at NDLS is her first teaching job ever. She was originally hired for a two-year fellowship for people transitioning into legal academia starting in 05-06. She was in practice before that, so, no — she hasn’t published anything. One aspect of her original appointment was that she would teach only one class a semester so that she’d have plenty of time to devote to research. And she’s pretty serious about it — she worked her first research assistant so hard that the person didn’t renew for second semester because they couldn’t commit to the time she wanted. The response to her teaching skill was so overwhelmingly positive that her term fellowship was converted into a full-time position before the end of the 05-06 academic year and she was a finalist for Teacher of the Year last year too.
I hope she has a long career as a law professor at NDLS. Given that she just got engaged to a local, I’d say there’s a good possibility.
Tricia and AJ are great too, no doubt. AJ won the award in 2003, his third year on the faculty. Tricia’s time will come, as will Rick Garnett’s. Just depends on the class.
April 26th, 2007 at 11:40:14 am
Oh, and Teacher of the Year is a student award, meaning that the recipient is determined by student vote. Recent winners were Amy Barrett (06), Jay Tidmarsh (05), and A.J. Bellia (03). I can’t remember who it was in 04 — Velasco, maybe?
April 26th, 2007 at 12:20:03 pm
Good lord. There you go again, NDLS2006 — you clearly have a pathological need to prove how much you “know” and/or have the last word, even though you’re just as clearly clueless.
First of all, nothing in the alumni magazine story on Mason either supports your claim that she “sought out” an academic career, OR disproves my claim that she hadn’t thought about the position until Dean O’Hara asked her to consider it.
(Okay, looking back, I said the Dean “offered” it to her — it would have been more accurate to say “encouraged her to apply.” My point stands.)
Secondly, you seem not to grasp the concept of there being an “official” version of various events, whether it was Mason’s hiring or Roboski’s ouster, that is as odds with what “really” happened. You seem to think you know what “really” happened, but the vast majority of the time you’re just giving the “official” story, as has been amply documented elsewhere. This is another case in point — everything in the alumni magazine is perfectly accurate, but it doesn’t tell the whole story. And as it turns out, things *do* happen in this building that you aren’t told about.
Finally, you say “She was in practice before that, so, no — she hasn’t published anything” as if that proves a single thing. Ask Brian Murray or Julian Velasco about publishing while in practice, just to name two.
I will never understand why, given the fact that you seem to agree with most of us most of the time, that you insist on elevating hyper-technical points of disagreement to such levels of discourse. Especially since you so clearly have no idea what you’re talking about on such issues, and there’s no way you can not be aware of it.
And anyway, isn’t there a federal law violator somewhere in Newark you should be focusing your time and energies on?
April 26th, 2007 at 12:22:42 pm
Emergencies? No, not really. I much prefer coming here to annoy the crap out of you.
April 26th, 2007 at 12:23:23 pm
And is it not yet clear that more than one person posts as NDLS2006?
April 26th, 2007 at 12:33:02 pm
“is it not yet clear that more than one person posts as NDLS2006?”
Did you miss the part where your host frowns upon such things?
http://www.brendanloy.com/wp/2007/04/observer-reports-on-ndls-discontent.html#comment-432561
Show some freaking respect.
More to the point, if several people are using the same name to post here, which then generates confusion or contradiction when people compare your comments to a) other things you’ve said, or b) the truth, I fail to see how it’s my problem, or anyone else’s, when you come off looking like a fool as a result.
April 26th, 2007 at 12:35:01 pm
You seem to have overlooked the possibility that the entire intention is to come across looking like a fool.
April 26th, 2007 at 12:38:18 pm
Well, you are certainly succeeding. Seems like an odd way to spend your time, but more power to you, I suppose.
Of course, if this is really what our grads think is a reasonable way to interact with the world, then maybe the XO people are right.
April 26th, 2007 at 12:50:04 pm
Ten minutes a day well-spent, I say.
And, my — you certainly take this thing seriously, don’t you?
April 26th, 2007 at 12:58:56 pm
Serious discussion about problems at my school and an attempt at collaborative efforts to rectify them? Yeah, I take that seriously. Would that more of us did.
April 26th, 2007 at 1:49:06 pm
Just so we can trace it back a few years without getting into more rampant guessing or recollections:
‘06 A. Barrett
‘05 Tidmarsh
‘04 Kirsch
‘03 A.J. Bellia
‘02 Rice
‘01 M. Barrett
‘00 Rougeau
‘99 Schiltz
‘98 Gunn
‘97 Robinson
‘96 Murphy (posthumously)
‘95 Tidmarsh
‘94 Rice
Prior to that included several Ripples, along with a Rice and a Blakey.
April 26th, 2007 at 2:47:09 pm
And Derek didn’t mention that the list also includes none other than POH herself. The year escapes me.
April 26th, 2007 at 2:52:40 pm
Oh, yes, co-winner in ‘86, sorry.
April 26th, 2007 at 2:53:22 pm
1986, IIRC
April 26th, 2007 at 3:44:09 pm
I only recently learned of the honor you bestowed upon me. First, thank you for your very kind sentiments. As much as I might enjoy the ND boxer shorts, :) I appreciate your farewell gift most of all. You have been a great collection of individuals to work with, and I shall miss that. The Notre Dame community in all its capacity always made me feel like a valuable contributor, but I was given an opportunity to advance my professional career in a town much closer to my family. Besides, after working with you guys, what more could I accomplish? :)
I wish you all the best.
Kind regards,
Tim
April 27th, 2007 at 1:24:07 am
Awww, Tim reads Brendan’s blog! Hi Tim! We miss you :)
June 1st, 2011 at 3:23:13 pm
De mooiste collectie jassen en tassen…
De mooiste en grootste collectie jassen en tassen van nederland vindt je bij jasentas!…