Nov

5

Obama’s Applause Lines on Education

Posted by: Alan J. Borsuk | November 5, 2009 | Leave a Comment

President Barack Obama’s 35-minute speech on education at Wright Middle School in Madison on Wednesday was interrupted by applause at many points, but most of the reaction was pretty low-key. Three lines drew what seemed to be more enthusiastic responses from the crowd of more than 500, most of them teachers, parents, and students at the 250-student school. Each of [...]

Nov

3

Will State Education Reforms Get a Boost from Obama?

Posted by: Alan J. Borsuk | November 3, 2009 | 1 Comment

When, if ever, has a president of the United States inserted himself as directly into a legislative issue in Wisconsin as President Barack Obama is doing by visiting Madison on Wednesday? Obama’s visit to a middle school a couple miles from the State Capitol will focus on education – and it comes as Gov. Jim [...]

Oct

19

Mayoral Control: Second Thoughts? Third Thoughts?

Posted by: Michael M. O'Hear | October 19, 2009 | 2 Comments

At the Marquette Educator, Dean Bill Henk has an interesting new post on the proposed mayoral takeover of Milwaukee Public Schools.  Bill chronicles Mayor Barrett’s hesitant, on-again-off-again embrace of the proposed takeover.  Contrary to the conventional wisdom that politicians always want more power, Barrett is displaying a marked lack of enthusiasm for taking on responsibility for [...]

Sep

23

SAT Scores and Affirmative Action

Posted by: J. Gordon Hylton | September 23, 2009 | Leave a Comment

In her majority opinion in the landmark civil rights case Grutter v. Bollinger, 539 U.S. 306, 342-44 (2003), Justice Sandra Day O’Connor wrote:
Enshrining a permanent justification for racial preferences would offend this fundamental equal protection principle. We see no reason to exempt race-conscious admissions programs from the requirement that all governmental use of race must [...]

Sep

8

Welcome to the Blogosphere, Marquette Educator

Posted by: Michael M. O'Hear | September 8, 2009 | Leave a Comment

I’ve been enjoying a new blog written by Dean Bill Henk of Marquette’s College of Education.  Among other things, “Marquette Educator” has been covering the lively ongoing debates over the future of Milwaukee Public Schools, including the recent push to transfer control over the school district to the Mayor.  As our own Dean Kearney recently [...]

Aug

26

Term Begins, Spector Appointed

Posted by: Joseph D. Kearney | August 26, 2009 | Leave a Comment

The Law School began its fall semester today, having welcomed through orientation the past two days both full-time (185) and part-time (34) students embarking upon their legal education. We welcomed—and welcome—as well a handful of transfer students. My beginning-of-semester letter to the community, with some information, I believe, of general interest about the Law School, [...]

Jul

9

Diploma-Privilege Case Continues

Posted by: Joseph D. Kearney | July 9, 2009 | 15 Comments

The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has handed down an opinion in Wiesmueller v. Kosobucki, No. 08-2527, a class action challenging—under the federal Constitution’s “dormant commerce clause”—the diploma privilege.  The diploma privilege, of course, is the Wisconsin Supreme Court rule that permits law graduates of Marquette University and the University of [...]

Jun

25

What Is So Special (to Me) About Intellectual Property?

Posted by: Irene Calboli | June 25, 2009 | Leave a Comment

Last week I announced a future post about “why I like IP” and what brought me to specialize in this area. First, as with many-and often the most successful-things in life, IP more or less happened to me. I graduated from the University of Bologna Law School with a thesis (very much like a master’s [...]

Jun

5

MULS 2009 Works-In-Progress Workshop (June Session)

Posted by: Irene Calboli | June 5, 2009 | Leave a Comment

To open my month as faculty blogger, I would first like to thank my colleague Michael O’Hear, whose dedication to, and work for, the Marquette Faculty Blog since its creation last summer have been incredible.  This is very much one of the major reasons why this project has been so successful and brought so many wonderful [...]

Feb

25

Is Governance Reform in the Future for Milwaukee Public Schools?

Posted by: Mike Gousha | February 25, 2009 | 4 Comments

There is growing consensus that the Milwaukee Public Schools are at a critical moment in their history.  Faced with daunting fiscal challenges last year, some school board members talked openly about dissolving the district, only to later amend their comments.  It was a symbolic protest, they said, an attempt to draw attention to the district’s [...]

Feb

5

Bad Idea Jeans – Take Three

Posted by: Paul M. Secunda | February 5, 2009 | 6 Comments

I am not making this up – and from our state to boot.  The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is reporting:
A Beaver Dam Middle School teacher is on administrative leave after school officials discovered a photo of her with a gun on Facebook.
In the photo, Betsy Ramsdale was training a rifle at the camera.
In an e-mail to [...]

Jan

22

Supreme Court Provides for Civil Rights Claim in Peer Sexual Harassment Case

Posted by: Paul M. Secunda | January 22, 2009 | Leave a Comment

In somewhat of a shocking fashion, the U.S. Supreme Court yesterday ruled to permit victims of peer sexual harassment in the educational context to pursue civil rights claims against schools and school officials under Section 1983, even if they have separate viable claims under Title IX.  The decision was unanimous, with Justice Alito writing for [...]