In the News: Mini Law School, New New School Dean and More

New Mini Law School for the Public in Saint Louis

The Saint Louis University School of Law and the Missouri Bar Association have launched a mini law school to teach the community about current and past legal issues. The seven-week course will begin on September 15th with an inaugural class of about 400 students.

The New School gets a new dean from Northwestern University

David E. Van Zandt--formerly the dean of the Northwestern University School of Law--has been chosen as the new dean of The New School. It's not surprising the search committee and board of trustees chose an academic with dean experience. The school's last dean, Bob Kerrey, was a former politician who had never led a school prior to his assignment at the New School. He came under heavy fire from faculty and students in 2008 after the faculty published a vote of no-confidence in him at 271 to eight.

Harvard Business School enrolls the largest MBA class ever

HBS added about 40 students to its already larger-than-average class size. It's unclear why they decided to increase their student body, though they may be preparing for the addition of the 2+2 program students--the inaugural class of whom will join MBA first-years next year. Others suggest that the reasoning behind the additional students was financial. According to Higher Studies blog, the 40 students could generate up to $1.8 million for the school through tuition, fees and alumni giving, etc.

George Washington University Law School's incoming class has highest mean GPA ever

We weren't joking when we said that law school admission was the extremely competitive this year. Evidence of that is the high average GPAs of the Class of 2013. The GW Law School has reported that its incoming 1Ls have an average GPA of 3.79, its highest ever. Despite the possibility that GW Law chose applicants with high GPAs and LSAT scores over better rounded candidates to move ahead in the (which is possible), they would not have been able to find candidates with such high scores, let alone secure their attendance, without an overall increase in the quality of applicants. I can't wait to see what the law school applicant pool looks like this fall!

Franklin Pierce Law Center officially becomes the University of New Hampshire School of Law

The Franklin Pierce Law Center officially became the UNH School of Law yesterday, finally joining the nationally ranked public University of New Hampshire. The refashioned law school opened its doors to law students this week, most of whom were excited about joining UNH. "It feels really good," says the Student Bar Association president. FPLC is the second private law school to join a public university system. Hopefully, the school will keep its reputation as a leader in intellectual property law despite the name change. Good luck to them for a smooth transition!

National Park Service is looking for interns and career park rangers

Despite threats to close a number of U.S. national parks, the National Park Service is hiring across the United States. And it's not just in Yosemite and Zion. "The myth of the national park ranger is that they're at Yosemite," Chief Ranger Jill Hawk told the Miami Herald. "What's not really well known is that there are park rangers in the inner city protecting the national heritage of the U.S." There are park rangers in New York City, Philadelphia and more urban environments. The National Park Service also sponsors a top internship program for students interested in test-driving a career as a ranger.

The Economic Policy Institute reports job growth is in low-paying sectors

The good news is that there are more jobs. The bad news is that the fastest-growing occupations don't pay very much--not only at the entry level, but at the mid and late career level as well. Home health aide, medical assistant, food preparation and service and warehouse stock clerk are four of the top 5 fastest growing professions, and they all pay below the median wage of $15.95 an hour. Jobs for registered nurses also continue to grow; luckily, RNs can make $30.65.

Alumnus withdraws donations to Brooklyn College over controversial required reading

Sparks have been flying as a result of the announcement that Brooklyn College will require its students to read How Does it Feel to be a Problem?: Being Young and Arab in America as part of its Common Reader program. The point of the program, according to the college, is simply that incoming freshmen will have something to talk about from day one. Further, the college claims, "the Common Reader experience emphasizes the book's biographical, autobiographical or semi-autobiographical story rather than the various authors' individual political positions or world views." Critics, however, see the choice of a pro-Palestine book as an attempt to indoctrinate students. One alumnus even wrote the college out of his will. "The official policy to inculcate students with a political viewpoint…is unacceptable," he argued.