Category Archives: U.Miami

I've been keeping an eye on the online coverage (and blog postings) regarding UM's recent offer of a public interest scholarship to students who defer a year. Little of it has been in any way enlightening (even the comments here were very uneven). But the National Law Journal has actual facts,

Law school pays students to stay away: [Incoming UM Law Dean Patricia White] would not disclose how many students the law school accepted for next fall, but said that the yield rate increased from 28% last year to 36% this year.

…

Law school applications were up overall this year, but they didn't surge the way many had predicted. Conventional wisdom holds that more people seek out graduate programs during bad economic times to avoid a tough job market. According to the admissions council, law school applications increased nationally by 4.3%.

“We certainly haven't seen the double-digit increases we saw in past recessions,” said Yellen, who theorized that the high cost of law school and the news of law firm layoffs might have dissuaded some people from applying.

Assuming the change in UM's applications were somewhere near the national average (4.3%), a 28.5% increase in yield (from 28% to 36%) is indeed a monumental and unpredictable event.

U. Miami Law will offer incoming students a $5,000 public interest scholarship towards tuition to defer a year”.

Our incoming Dean Patricia White just sent the following offer to all currently enrolled future 1Ls:

Every year our Admissions Office uses our past experience with acceptance rates to decide how many students to admit. In these economically troubled times past experience has turned out to be a poor guide. An unprecedented percentage of applicants admitted to the University of Miami Law School have accepted our offer. This will give us a larger than optimal first-year class. Accordingly we are offering an incentive to defer admission until Fall 2010. If you wish to take advantage of this offer you must notify us by e-mail (admissions@law.miami.edu) or facsimile (305 284 3084) by July 10, 2009.

While I would like to believe that this year’s elevated acceptance rate reflects the great sense of excitement about the Law School and its future that led me to become its new Dean, I fear that some of it may be related to the shortage of jobs in the current economy. Perhaps many of you are looking to law school as a safe harbor in which you can wait out the current economic storm.

If this describes your motivation for going to law school I urge you to think hard about your plans and to consider deferring enrollment. Law school requires an enormous investment of work, energy, time, and money. It is very demanding intellectually and emotionally. Beyond this, in these uncertain and challenging times the nature of the legal profession is in great flux. It is very difficult to predict what the employment landscape for young lawyers will be in May 2012 and thereafter.

If you are choosing to join us this Fall because you are strongly committed to the study of law we welcome you with open arms and promise to do our best to provide you with an exceptional and challenging educational experience. But if you are approaching law school with ambivalence or the thought that it will be a safe haven, perhaps you should take a year to decide whether it is the best choice for you.

To encourage this we are offering incentives to admitted students to defer admission until Fall 2010. The basic idea is that we will give you a $5000 Public Interest Deferral Scholarship for the 2010-11 academic year if you defer starting law school until August 2010. There is one additional condition: performing and documenting 120 hours of public service by June 1, 2010. This requirement reflects the commitment to public service we try to instill in all our students.

The following are the benefits of taking advantage of this unique offer and deferring your enrollment to Fall 2010:

• Guaranteed $5,000 Public Interest Deferral Scholarship when completing 120 hours of public service. This scholarship would be in addition to any other scholarship award you may receive (not to exceed the cost of tuition).
• Increase your likelihood of selection for a $75,000 Miami Scholars Scholarship award ($25,000 each year for 3 years). This is a scholarship designed to encourage and reward public service.
• If qualified, be among the first group considered for all 2010 scholarships (see offer details).
• Apply your entire $300 seat deposit to Fall 2010, rather than receiving only a partial refund and forfeiting the balance.

For further important details about this offer, click here. (http://www.law.miami.edu/ps/deferral_offer_details.php)

If you would like to defer your admission to Fall 2010, please contact us by e-mail (admissions@law.miami.edu) or facsimile (305-284-3084) by July 10th. If you have questions, please contact the Office of Admissions (305-284-2527).

I am delighted that the University of Miami is your law school of choice. I am very excited about its future and hope to welcome you either this August or next.

Warm regards,

Trish White
Dean Designate

I had heard that our yield rate was way up this year. I guess it was waaay up.

I wonder what the takeup rate on this offer will be?

(7/2) Comments closed here — see the update at Some More Facts About Miami Law’s Over-Enrollment

CIA unmasks officer killed in 2003: The CIA revealed the identity of a clandestine officer killed six years ago and dedicated the 90th star on its memorial wall.

CIA Director Leon Panetta on Monday identified the officer killed in Ethiopia in 2003 as Gregg Wenzel, 33.

According to public accounts, Wenzel was a foreign service officer at the State Department. He was killed by a drunk driver in Addis Ababa who was convicted but as of 2008, had not been caught.

Wenzel was a member of the first clandestine service training class to graduate after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, was a former public defender in Florida and an Ironman triathlete.

Wenzel grew up in Monroe, N.Y., and earned a law degree from the University of Miami law school.

There used to be a very large CIA presence on campus, but it was, we thought, aimed at Latin America. Then the funding stopped, and (AFAIK) they mostly went away.

The Miami Herald reports that ferociously bigoted Westboro Baptist church plans a media event at our graduation. They call it a 'protest' but it's really just one of a whole series of made-for-TV events they'll be staging in the area that day.

That we've been included for our support of gay rights is, in some weird way, a badge of honor, although I feel bad for graduates and their families who may have a few moments of their day spoiled by the famously vicious demonstrators.

As it happens, I will be on an airplane at the time, so I will miss my chance to share with them what I think of them, or even to ignore them (which might be the better thing to do).

UM Law School Professor Emeritus George C. Onoprienko passed away on Monday, May 11, 2009.

Professor Onoprienko taught at the Law School for 40 years before retiring in 1997. He spent his retirement years in Jensen Beach, Florida.

Professor Onoprienko's contributions to the School and to the local community were numerous. As a member of the Miami Dade County task forces on battered women and abused children, he researched and drafted legislation that was passed by the Florida Legislature. He was a past chairman of the American Bar Association Committee on Ethics in Family Law, and served as a member of the Florida Bar Appellate Rules Committee. His publications included Cases and Materials on Florida Appellate Practice and Procedure: Civil, Criminal, and Administrative and Cases and Materials on Florida Domestic Relations.

Professor Onoprienko is survived by his wife Doris and his brother John. Condolences may be sent to: Mrs. George Onoprienko (Doris), 188 N.E. Balsam Way, Jensen Beach, FL 34957. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, May 16th at 11:00 a.m. at the Aycock Funeral Home, 950 N.E. Jensen Beach Boulevard, Jensen Beach, Florida.

Just received a long email that started as follows:

Please be advised that Miami-Dade Water & Sewer Department (WASD) will be performing water valve maintenance on the Coral Gables campus beginning May 18th through June 30th 2009.

During this maintenance period, the facilities could experience short-term interruptions of water.

It is signed by

James E. Sprinkle, Jr.
Sr. Manager,
Facilities & Operations
University of Miami

Honest.