Marquette University Law School Faculty Blog

April 12: The Voices of MPS Leadership Experience

Post author:Alan J. Borsuk
Post published:April 5, 2010
Post category:Education & Law Marquette Law School Speakers at Marquette

Who knows better the challenges and problems of heading up the Milwaukee Public Schools system than the people who have done it previously?

While former MPS superintendents have generally adhered to a policy of not speaking up on what their successors ought to do, four people who have held the top post in the system will appear together at Marquette University Law School on Monday, April 12, to share their thoughts.

The four are Robert Peterkin, superintendent from 1988 to 1991 and a professor at Harvard since then; Howard Fuller, superintendent from 1991 to 1995 and head of the Institute for the Transformation of Learning at Marquette since then; Barbara Horton, acting superintendent in 1999 and now head of a charter school in Milwaukee; and Spence Korte, superintendent from 1999 to 2002, now retired.

Peterkin has headed Harvard’s program to train urban superintendents in recent years and has rarely spoken publicly about Milwaukee issues. While Fuller has been one of the nation’s most prominent voices for school choice programs, he has been cautious about speaking about MPS. Korte has also generally avoided the spotlight since retiring from MPS. Horton has the unusual distinction of having also been a member of the Milwaukee School Board for five years.

2010 Jenkins Competition Finals April 6

Post author:Melissa Love Koenig
Post published:April 5, 2010
Post category:Marquette Law School

This is a week of great competition: the NCAA finals, the Brewers home opener, and the final round of the 2010 Jenkins Honors Moot Court Competition. Please congratulate the following teams who have advanced to the final round:

Gabe Johnson-Karp and Alexandra Grimley

Ashley Roth and Emily Lonergan

These two teams are going for a rematch in the final round.

All members of the Law School community are invited to attend the final round, which will take place on Tuesday, April 6 at 6:00 p.m. at the Federal Courthouse, with a reception immediately following at the Milwaukee Club.

To attend the final round, please email Carol Dufek at carol.dufek@marquette.edu.

Neumann the Outsider

Post author:Alan J. Borsuk
Post published:April 5, 2010
Post category:Speakers at Marquette

Mark Neumann is not Lee Dreyfus, but if Neumann is going to be elected governor of Wisconsin this year, it’s going to be by capitalizing on much of the appeal that Dreyfus had in 1978 as a Republican who was glad to say that he was not versed in the ways of Madison’s state capitol.

Neumann invoked his standing as a businessman who is not a professional politician often in an “On the Issues with Mike Gousha” session at Marquette University Law School last week.

Neumann is regarded widely as the underdog in the race for the Republican nomination for governor, with Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker the favorite. The winner is expected to face Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, the only major candidate for the Democratic nomination, in the November final election.

In answering questions from the audience and from Gousha, the Law School’s distinguished fellow in law and public policy, Neumann did not take much issue with Walker on policy. Both strongly oppose the high-speed rail project proposed for Chicago to Milwaukee to Madison, both have strongly criticized the new national health insurance law, and both advocate holding down taxes and cutting state regulatory requirements on businesses.