Five 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.

This is a notable week in the Law School’s public policy initiative. First, it marks the beginning of Charles Franklin’s work as professor of law and public policy—an appointment announced this past May by Rev. Scott R. Pilarz, S.J., president of the University. Professor Franklin, formerly professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, will continue to direct the Marquette Law School Poll and, more broadly, will work with Mike Gousha, Alan Borsuk, and faculty at the Law School and beyond in the continuing development of the Law School’s public policy research and outreach. Second, Craig Gilbert joins us in a sense. Mr. Gilbert, the head of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Washington bureau and the author of The Wisconsin Voter blog at the newspaper, will hold a six-month fellowship established by the Law School through its Sheldon B. Lubar Fund for Public Policy Research. This is along the lines of work last academic year by the newspaper’s Rick Romell, which resulted in an extensive multipart series in the newspaper reporting on the economic future of this region. Mr. Gilbert is especially well-regarded in both journalism and the academy (you can get a sense of that here). His project during his time as a Lubar Fellow will focus on aspects of political polarization in the region, an activity that (to bring me back to where I began) no doubt will occasion his collaboration with Charles Franklin and Mike Gousha, among others at Marquette. On behalf of all who comprise the Marquette Law School community, it is a privilege for me welcome to both Charles and Craig as they expand the contributions we make to the community even beyond our core mission of legal education.