Walter Huffman, Dean of Texas Tech’s law school since 2001, and former Judge Advocate General of the Army, announced today his intent to resign effective following this upcoming school year (Spring 2009). The one-year lead time is apparently to allow the school time to conduct a thorough search for his replacement. No word on where Dean Huffman is off to.
Everything I ever heard about Dean Huffman was beyond positive, and I know that he had been ambitious in his efforts to raise both the profile and the academic statute of TTU’s law school. They will no doubt miss his leadership, and owe him a debt of gratitude for his successful and dedicated efforts as well.
Thx to an anonymous aspiring lawyer
June 25, 2008 at 11:36 am
Dean Huffman has done a great deal for Texas Tech; he’s been an effective leader who has focused his efforts on improving our standing among law schools not only in Texas but also across the nation. Dean Huffman has put together a phenomenal faculty, brought attention to our school through his leadership in organizing national legal symposiums at Texas Tech, and has worked tirelessly on raising the standards of admission to Tech Law. He also played a very important part in securing the single-largest donation ever made to the law school and provided oversight in completing the Lanier Center. Dean Huffman will be sorely missed by everyone at Texas Tech.
June 27, 2008 at 12:57 am
It’s funny how current students are brainwashed into thinking that the faculty is so top notch and that Huffman is king of law school deans.
In reality, the faculty is, at best, a mediocre group. Loewy is the lone nationally prominent professor, that is, one who might actually be hired by Yale, Stanford, Harvard and the like, and as luck would have it, his claim to fame at Tech is being the professor with the lowest student evaluations every semester he has been there.
The rest of the pedestrian faculty do the minimum required to maintain their contracts, and often balk at anything beyond those requirements. They rarely, if ever get published in reviews or journals of prominence.
Stated another way, the remarkably nondescript faculty is a major reason why the law school remains destined to retain third-tier status.
Huffman had his moments, but a lot of what he gets credit for would have happened regardless of who the dean was. For example, the multi-million dollar endowment for the Killam criminal law chair happened solely because of the death of its namesake. And the new building that Lanier financed would have been built even if Daisy Floyd had been named dean.
One of the most embarassing antics of the Huffman administration was his short sighted attempt to play up to the US News and World Report rankings at the expense of admitting minority students. He spearheaded an effort to cut enrollment solely for the purpose of beefing up faculty ratios to look better for US News rankings. Then he strong armed the faculty into voting in favor of it. By most estimates up to 40 students per year will now be denied admission and most of those will be disadvantaged students.
But to answer the query as to where he is off to, he will be taking one year off then he plans to return to teach full time at the law school. At least that’s the public story.
There are those of us who have reason to believe this is a political stunt by Huffman designed to send a message to the Board of Regents that he is available to sit in the President’s chair at the university.
Time will tell but we all wish Walter the best in his retirement whatever form that takes.
June 27, 2008 at 2:19 am
Seven,
Agree there is much, much room for improvement at TTU Law and that it is still likely the third or fourth best law school in Texas (great value, yes, able to trot your degree around BigTex and inspire oohs and ahhs, no).
That said, Dean Huffman brought more of a concerted effort to increase both TTU’s national and statewide stature than had existed previously. I think that his substantial efforts have started TTU on an upward trajectory, but it will be crucial who is brought in next as Dean to see if TTU makes the leap in becoming a truly prominent law school.
-020033
July 10, 2008 at 2:13 pm
[...] see the text of an email sent from outgoing TTU Dean Walter Huffman announcing that Justice Scalia will be speaking at the Texas Tech Law School’s [...]