An Expanded Role for Jay Ranney as Schoone Visiting Fellow

ranney-TNAs set forth in this release, the Law School has appointed Joseph A. Ranney as its Adrian P. Schoone Visiting Fellow in Wisconsin Law. Ranney will use his fellowship to write a book that examines the role states have played in the evolution of American law, with a focus on the contributions made by Wisconsin. Ranney is (and will continue to be) a partner at DeWitt, Ross & Stevens, S.C., in Madison and a longtime member of Marquette University Law School’s part-time faculty. His previous books include Trusting Nothing to Providence: A History of Wisconsin’s Legal System (1998), considered the leading legal history of the state, and In the Wake of Slavery (2006), examining the path of the law and its effects in the Reconstruction-era South. He is also well known to the Wisconsin bar for his frequent contributions to Wisconsin Lawyer, the official magazine of the State Bar of Wisconsin, and he has made a number of contributions to the Marquette Law Review. The fellowship is made possible by the Law School’s Adrian P. Schoone Fund for the Study of Wisconsin Law and Legal Institutions, announced last year, and its fruits no doubt will include contributions by Jay Ranney to this faculty blog during the course of his fellowship. It is a pleasure to welcome him to his new role.

 

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Diederich College Appointment of John Pauly as Colnik Chair

John PaulyJohn Pauly came to Marquette University in 2006 to lead the Diederich College of Communication, and we were deans for two years together — or at least next door to one another, as he was in Johnston Hall and I immediately east in the “old building,” as we in the Law School now call Sensenbrenner Hall. Then Dean Pauly became Provost Pauly in 2008, and so for five years I reported to him, although that phrasing does not convey all the support that Provost Pauly gave to the Law School and to me as dean. Throughout these years and his administrative positions, I admired the way John remained engaged in his discipline — journalism — in a way also integrated with the larger work of the Marquette University faculty. I remain particularly drawn to his substantial essay, “Is Journalism Interested in Resolution, or Only in Conflict?,” published in the Marquette Law Review in 2009 as part of a dispute resolution symposium at the Law School (introduced here by conference organizer, Prof. Andrea K. Schneider). There are other examples of his contributions, including a post last month on our blog concerning the study of political polarization conducted by Craig Gilbert, Washington Bureau Chief of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and the Law School’s Lubar Fellow for Public Policy Research last year.

In any event, for all these reasons (and for any additional engagement with the Law School that it might occasion), I am delighted that my colleague Lori Bergen, dean of the Diederich College of Communication, has appointed John Pauly as the college’s Gretchen and Cyril Colnik Chair in Communication. In making the announcement, Dean Bergen noted that Prof. Pauly’s research and teaching “in the history and sociology of the mass media, cultural approaches to communication, media ethics and criticism, communication theory and the theory and practice of literary journalism have brought him international distinction as a scholar.” This appointment as Colnik Chair is a signal and well-deserved honor for a much-respected colleague and reflects not just terrific judgment concerning John Pauly’s past contributions to Marquette University and the community of scholars but also a prediction of more such. Kudos and congratulations to all involved.

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Thank You to Michael O’Hear

michaelohearFive years ago Marquette Law School launched this faculty blog. It was then, and has been since, a group project, with posts coming from faculty members, primarily, but others as well, including alumni and students, and comments from just about anyone willing to include his or her name. Yet one person has had more to do with the blog, from its suggestion to its success, than any other: Michael M. O’Hear, professor of law and associate dean for research. Professor O’Hear himself has put up almost 500 posts, variously touching upon Seventh Circuit decisions, Wisconsin law and policy in the area of sentencing, the work of faculty colleagues, and many other topics. His work also has involved leadership beyond such example — to the point that a contributor to the Volokh Conspiracy, one of the most popular law blogs, remarked in 2011 that the Marquette blog is the most frequently updated of any law school faculty blog. It is thus with both gratitude and a bit of anxiety that I relate that Professor O’Hear has handed the reins to another colleague (Professor Bruce E. Boyden). After a half-decade of service as lead editor, Professor O’Hear leaves this blog in good shape, and he is especially eager to turn more of his undivided attention to a book project. To be sure, Professor O’Hear will continue to contribute to the blog, but I wish not merely to note the handoff but also to thank him for his prodigious work on this project for as long as — indeed, even longer than — we have published this blog.

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