March Madness

Sure, my NCAA bracket went down in flames with Pitt’s loss to Villanova on Saturday night. But March Madness lives on!

Today we are celebrating the end of the advocacy competition season--a season that concluded with another championship for Regent Law students. Congratulations to Katy Dacanay and Bo Holden, who this weekend won the 2009 Robert R. Merhige, Jr. National Environmental Negotiation Competition over twenty-five other teams from across the country.

Professor and coach Eric DeGroff reported: “Of the 26 teams, from 14 schools covering states from New York to California, Katy and Bo were ranked #1 after the two preliminary rounds on Friday, then went on to win their head-to-head, quarter-final match and place first among the 4 teams in the final round on Saturday.” More than reporting the victory, he told me that Katy and Bo consistently displayed professionalism, excellence, and integrity that represented Regent and Jesus Christ with honor and distinction.

Congratulations to Professor DeGroff, Katy, and Bo. And praise God for his continued blessing on our students.

Preview Weekend

We recently welcomed 60 potential law students to campus (plus guests) for our spring Preview Weekend. The weekend gave our visitors a glimpse into what Regent Law School is all about. They met students, professors, and alumni. They sat in on classes. They heard of our unique mission and how we try to carry it out.

It was a great event (despite being scheduled dead in the middle of a very un-Virginia Beach-like 5 days of steady rain!) Preview is one of my favorite events each semester. Of course it is always fun talking with prospective students. They are eager, uncertain, curious, hopeful. But it is especially fun to talk with them at Preview. Being with us for a couple of days, the prospects do more than hear from us. They truly are able to feel what the campus is like. In getting to know faculty and students they can imagine what it would be like to be part of this community.

Most preview guests also bring a prayerful attitude. They come asking God if this is the place to which he has called them. And that is probably what I like the most. This event—like the law school itself—is all about calling. Sure, selfishly we would love them all to become Regent students and ultimately Regent alumni. But more than that, we want them to be where God wants them—even if that is not here. It is a great privilege to be involved in the process through which God directs his children.

Great Placement News

We just reported to NALP (National Association for Law Placement) our complete employment numbers for the class of 2008. The numbers were superb. Our 9 month employment percentage was 94.4% (using the US News formula). Our at graduation rate was 68.4% (US News formula again). Both of these numbers should place us well within the top 100 schools in the country. In addition, 10% of that class received judicial clerkships.

Congratulations to Darius Davenport, Kathy Stull, and the whole career placement team! Praise the Lord, too, for his blessing on our efforts!

Status Update: Jeffrey Brauch is missing the classroom

I (to the mild disbelief of my children) have a Facebook account. One of Facebook’s most used features is the status update. With a click of the button, I can learn what a bunch of my friends report they are doing, thinking, or wishing at any given time.

So here for my readers—Facebook friends or not—is my status update: I am missing the classroom today.

This semester has been a bit unusual. Unlike the fall semester, I am not teaching a regular class. I will be co-teaching a 1 credit class with former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft (Human Rights, Civil Liberties, and National Security) every day from March 30 to April 9. But I have really been out of the classroom since December. And I don’t like it.

I have stayed busy with student recruiting, fundraising, catching up with alumni, budget matters, faculty and staff meetings—and trying to stay on top of daily emails. All of it is important; much of it has been fun. But nothing matches the joy of being with students in the classroom.

It is what takes place in the classroom that is the reason for this school to exist. The rest of my activities are just means—important means, to be sure—to the end of teaching students. The most challenging, invigorating, and funny moments of my job take place in a room full of students as we push each other to think deeply and creatively about ideas.

I can’t wait until March 30!