Dean's Letter to Alumni
January 28, 2008
Dean Elena Kagan
Dear Friend,
Greetings! As we embark on another new year, I want to thank you—our alumni—for all you’ve done to make this such an extraordinary era for Harvard Law School. With major advances in areas ranging from faculty hiring to curriculum reform to construction of our landmark Northwest Corner complex, HLS continues to secure its position as the nation’s preeminent law school, and I’m deeply grateful for the guidance, suggestions, and support that have helped make us what we are today.
HLS in the 21st Century
The HLS now emerging is truly setting the standard for the future of legal education, keeping the best of our traditions while evolving to meet the needs of the 21st century. During the past year, we hit a record for full-time faculty, with 92 tenured, tenure-track, and clinical professors, reducing the student-faculty ratio and so paving the way for more small classes and an ever-richer array of courses; introduced historic reforms to the first-year curriculum while also enhancing the upper-level program; and began major construction on the 250,000-square-foot Northwest Corner complex, which will provide breathtaking new spaces for student activities, classes, and clinical programs.
Taken together, you might say that such changes have brought us to a sort of tipping point—a magic moment when a host of events have come together to produce a dramatic step forward—and I’m delighted to share my reflections on these and other key developments in the enclosed “HLS Year in Review.” This is your law school, and I hope you find these changes as exciting as I do.
Join Us for Campus "Celebrations"
Of course, it’s one thing to read about changes, quite another to see them firsthand, and I hope that many of you will make time to visit HLS during the year ahead.
As I’ve said in previous letters, I’m committed to finding more and better ways to build our alumni community—or rather communities—and I’d like to take this opportunity to issue a personal invitation to two events designed with this goal in mind: A Celebration of Public Interest—our first-ever public service reunion—scheduled for March 13-15, 2008 and Celebration 55: The Women’s Leadership Summit, scheduled for September 19-21, 2008, honoring fifty-five years of women leaders at HLS. (More information about A Celebration of Public Interest is available on our website at www.law.harvard.edu/alumni/pic; further information about The Women’s Leadership Summit will be forthcoming this spring.)
I also look forward to seeing—and celebrating with—many of you at upcoming Class Reunions, always among my favorite events of the year. HLS is not just a law school; it’s also a lifelong community—something I hope you’ll soon have the chance to rediscover for yourself.
HLS Alumni Online
We are now in the process of developing an online community through which HLS graduates will be able to connect with each other based on shared interests and experiences—an initiative that has enormous potential to help build a stronger and more meaningful alumni community. With the help of our extraordinary Berkman Center for Internet and Society, we have initiated the pilot phase of this project, which has the working title of “Sidebar.” Interested in helping us test and develop this new technology? Please send an email, with your name and class year, to sidebar@cyber.law.harvard.edu.
The five years I’ve served as dean of Harvard Law School have been the most fulfilling of my life. I want to thank all of you for what you’ve done to help—for the leadership, interest, and support that have contributed so much to the life of this great institution. I welcome—indeed depend on—your suggestions and ideas (you can reach me at elenakagan@law.harvard.edu), and I hope to see many of you in 2008!
Warm regards,
Elena Kagan
P.S. A special thanks to those of you who have contributed so generously to HLS during the past year. As we move into the final months of our Setting the Standard Campaign, your gifts have brought us through our initial $400-million goal, allowing us to set our sights even higher as we work to make HLS the very best it can be. I am deeply grateful.
Click here to read HLS 2007: The Year in Review.