“Our fingerprints don't fade from the lives we touch.” - Judy Blume
Not a week goes by when I don’t receive a positive message about the extraordinary teaching of our faculty. I’m pleased to share some emails I’ve received over the past year. Our faculty’s fingerprints will never fade from the lives they’ve touched.
Professor Emeritus Peter Garlock
“Dear Professor Garlock, I am sure I am not the first (or last) student to say this to you but thank you for such an amazing semester. I am so grateful for your knowledge, high expectations, and the great lengths you went to in order to ensure we knew the material in Criminal Law….I have never had a professor who inspired me to pursue excellence to the extent that you have, and I am truly grateful to you for that…. I will forever remember the life lessons I learned from taking your class.” – 2L student
“Professor Garlock, thank you very much for your message and thank you for being a dedicated professor. For what it’s worth, I believe I will never forget the material we studied in criminal law because of your dedication to making sure we understood what was being taught. . . .” - 2L Student
Professor Emeritus Brian Glassman
“Dear Dean Fisher, I wanted you to know the excellent work Professor Glassman has been doing teaching our community learners at the CWRU Siegal Lifelong Learning Program. Brian has taught a variety of courses on the intersection of law and art, starting with a lecture in Fall 2023 on the illicit trade of antiquities and a course this past Spring on Holocaust Art. This fall, he will be teaching a course in our Senior Scholars program on fakes and forgeries in the art world.” – Dr. Karen Laurence, Laura and Alvin Siegal Lifelong Learning Program / Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Classics, Case Western Reserve University
Professor Jennifer Harrell
“I just wanted to reach out after our last class and thank you for always being vulnerable and humble with my classmates and me. I truly feel that it has made all the difference in the comfort level in your classroom. I appreciate how open you have chosen to be with us. I am sure that has not been easy….. You have been an amazing professor and legal writing has truly been my favorite class so far….I am thankful to have been placed in your class.” - 1L Student
“Thank you so much for your fantastic course, kindness, patience, and support…. I am confident that the skills I have acquired during the course will help me in my daily job.” – 1L Student
“Thank you for always being helpful to not only me, but every student who seeks assistance. You are the definition of what a teacher can and should strive to be.” – 1L Student
“Thank you so much for being so available. It was reassuring to have a legal writing professor who also majored in English (and also is a Mom).” – 1L Student
“I wanted to let you know how inspiring it is to see an intelligent woman juggling a professional career in the legal field while being a mother….you are an example of a woman who can truly do it all! It is inspiring.” – 1L Student
Professor Laura Hoffman
“I just wanted to let you know that you've definitely eased some of my stress and anxiety throughout these first few weeks and I really appreciate the care you have for your students. It's been a difficult adjustment getting used to law school but you've made it feel a lot less intimidating. I just wanted to thank you for that and for the words of encouragement you always provide us.” - 1L Student
“ I am so grateful to have had you as my first ever law school professor! Thank you for always being so open, vulnerable, and honest with your students. That is something I hope to carry with me as I progress in my legal career, and beyond.” - 1L Student
Professor Doron Kalir
“I just learned I received a scaled score of 84 on my August MPRE, which is above the required Florida passing score of 80. I wanted to let you know and want to thank you for a great summer class.” – 2L JDO Student
“Professor, reading your letter brought tears to my eyes. I can never repay you for writing the recommendations, and for all the mentorship, wisdom, guidance, and friendship you have offered me since I arrived at CSU|Law. You are truly a father figure to me, and have shaped the kind of attorney I want to become.” – 3L Student
Professor Emeritus Sandra Kerber
“Professor Kerber, I just wanted to thank you for your motivational talks and the success stories you share of your former students…. your class is my favorite class…..My confidence has skyrocketed because of you and your stories….. you have really motivated me to not give up this year. I had a rough start and was considering giving up, but your motivational talks and success stories have inspired me. I really appreciate you taking the time to do this because it really shows that you care for our well-being.” – 1L student
Professor Karin Mika
“This class has honestly been the most pragmatic and useful class I have taken so far in law school, so I want to say thank you for that.” – 3L Student
Associate Dean/Professor Brian Ray
"Huge thanks to Brian Ray for the invitation to the Cybersecurity conference. It was well organized, had great content, and most importantly, incredibly welcoming and friendly. It's a lot of hard work just to get one of those things right, but Brian and his team hit it out of the park on all three." - Cory Scott, retired Chief Information Security Officer, LinkedIn and Confluent
"The Cybersecurity conference was a terrific event, as always! Thank you to all of the engaging law students who joined sessions and events! CSU's approach to incorporating cyber and privacy into legal study is truly innovative -- and their students eagerly joined our robust conversations.” - Holly Drake, Chief Information Security Officer, State of Ohio
Professor Heidi Robertson
“Dean Fisher, I want you to know that this was for the silent auction, specifically for the "brunch with Professor Robertson." A group of us in her Property class saw this and wanted to bid on it because we all felt strongly that she is an incredible professor and we really enjoyed our semester with her. I can't say enough about how helpful she is and how great of an experience this semester with her was.” – 2L Student
Professor Harlan Sands
“Professor, I just checked my MPRE score and I actually passed the ethics exam first try. I’d like to take all the credit, but I suppose those bar style questions you had us doing probably helped….” - 3L Student
Professor Kyle Shen
"I want to let you know that Professor Shen is an absolutely phenomenal professor. It is so clear that he cares immensely about his students' success, as well as about the content he is teaching. He knows so deeply what he is talking about to the point that even when a class member asks him a question that is only remotely related to the content, he is still able to give the class a rundown of what the question means, how it relates to what we are talking about, why it is important, and then he is able to circle back to class content with little to no disruption seemingly. He is also quite funny and engaging, which is always helpful. Even though he is kind and approachable, he still prioritizes challenging (and sometimes humbling) us, which I greatly appreciate…I do hope he teaches more classes I can take before my graduation." - 1L Student
Professor Milena Sterio
“Professor Sterio, I am incredibly grateful for your support, not only for this particular issue but for your unwavering assistance since the moment I applied for my LLM at CSU\LAW. From the bottom of my heart, I can't thank you enough.” – LLM Student
“I wanted to take a moment to sincerely thank you for your insightful contributions to the Second International Roundtable - Advancing Global Justice. Your deep analysis on the crime of aggression, particularly regarding the limitations of the ICC, are always incredibly compelling and so relevant to the current global landscape. Your insights and anecdotes drawn from your recent experience in Ukraine were really unique. It was a real pleasure to have you with us again for this roundtable. Your continued commitment to these discussions is greatly appreciated, and I’m excited to see where we can take these conversations in the future.” - Professor Pierpaolo Petrelli, Senior Fellow Centre for the Study of the United Nations, Jindal School of Law. O.P. Jindal Global University
“Milena, I've been teaching for many decades, and I think I am a pretty good judge of good pedagogy. You are a gifted teacher and I thank you very much for your presentation and dialogue with our online audience. It exceeded my expectations….I am looking forward to reading and using your published writings in my courses.” – Professor Emeritus Robert McAndrews, School of Social Work /Center for Holocaust & Genocide Studies, Salem State University
Professor Brandon Stump
“Professor Stump, ….I want to take a moment to thank you for your guidance, support, and the laughs that you shared with our legal writing class. I deeply admire your honesty and authenticity regarding both your sexuality and your autism. As the first person in my family to attend law school, I often find myself feeling out of place….During the first week of class, I was pleasantly surprised to see such authenticity from a law school professor… I’m sure it won’t come as a surprise when I say I really struggled (like, a lot) during my first semester of law school. I found myself thinking that I wasn’t smart enough for the classes, that I didn’t deserve to be here, or that I had made a mistake in enrolling into law school. As a result, I seriously contemplated dropping out and not returning for Spring semester. However, it was your encouragement, patience and understanding that really helped me get through that rough patch. In the moments where I found myself doubting my decisions, there was a lot of comfort in the stories and advice that you gave to our class. So, thank you for encouraging me throughout this past academic year, but especially in the difficult moments. When I have spoken to other classmates about you, they have always spoken very highly of you. I hope you realize the impact that you have made on students – you are truly incredible!” - 2L Student
“Brandon, I am particularly struck on my reflections from your insight that taking space is a means of giving space to others… . It’s a reframe for something that I think about a lot and frankly struggle with. But it resonates deeply…I look forward to more opportunities for our paths to cross.” – Professor Matthew Joel Segall, Emory Autism Center, Emory University
Professor Jonathan Witmer-Rich
“I just wanted to take a moment and say thank you for everything you’ve done this semester in Criminal Law…..The way you teach through these modules, supplemented with the live classes, is so explanatory. You break things down in ways that sometimes feel unnecessarily simple, but I appreciate it so much, because even if I do already understand what you’re explaining, it reaffirms in my mind that I’m on the right track. Then, you build from there, and I’m confident I have a good base to build on. ……You’ve done a wonderful job as a professor because you’re able to step back and think about what things look like for us – the 1Ls who haven’t ever studied documents like this.” – 1L JDO Student
“This semester has been really difficult – adapting to being back in school, while working, and having a family all at the same time – I’m not complaining, I know what I signed up for, but I’d be lying if I said balancing everything wasn’t harder than I expected. Your course has definitely been challenging, but this material has felt manageable because of how you lay things out…..I especially appreciate how you’ve handled the sensitive and sometimes personal subjects we’ve had to cover, and how you controlled the discussion to keep it respectful and productive…..I just wanted you to know the impact you’ve had on me, and I know many others in the class. Thank you for everything you’re doing!” -1L JDO Student
Have a great day and a great week!
The views and opinions expressed in my Monday Morning Message are solely my own and do not reflect the views and opinions of the law school or the university.
For copies of past messages, please go to this link: Monday Morning Messages
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My best,
Lee
Lee Fisher
Dean, Cleveland State University College of Law
Joseph C. Hostetler-BakerHostetler Chair in Law
1801 Euclid Avenue, LB 138 |Cleveland, Ohio 44115 -2214
216-386-8688 | lee.fishernull@csuohio.nulledu