“At a time when so much is uncertain, I'm particularly grateful for the steady flow of information and the many opportunities to provide input. I'm sure balancing the unique needs of students, faculty, and staff has been overwhelming, but your transparency throughout this process has made the situation a little less overwhelming for everyone else.” -2L Student
“It is the personal connection that has been shining through during this trying and transitional time… Everyone at the law school has gone out of their way to extend help in any way they can….That is why I grow happier every day about choosing Cleveland-Marshall.” -1L Student
This morning is a special tribute to our students from our faculty and staff as well as some special tributes to our faculty, staff, alumni, and leaders-in-residence from our students. In the midst of the anxiety and uncertainty, we have seen courage, empathy, resilience, and grace from every corner of our CSU Cleveland-Marshall community.
A Video Message to Our Students from Our Faculty and Staff
I want to begin with a special video message to our students from our faculty and staff. We’ll have another one next week. Hope you enjoy it!
See this link: A Special Video Message to Our Students
Messages to Our Faculty, Staff, Alumni, and Leaders-in-Residence From Our Students
Every week our students send me notes of gratitude. Below are some of the notes I’ve received just in the past few weeks.
Professor Chris Sagers
“Professor Sagers reached out to all of his corporations class individually to ask how we have been doing which was really nice, especially considering there are 60 of us.” -3L student
Senior Legal Writing Professor Karin Mika
“I'd like to commend Professor Mika's amazingly fast response times in this new digital age. Legal writing is definitely a class that stakes its student success on the degree of feedback and guidance they receive - we have to learn to write in a completely different style! Professor Mika answers all of our questions ASAP and keeps us engaged in the material, all while saving time to show us a funny video or two and introducing us to her dog via Zoom. It's always a positive experience!” – 1LE Student (note: the ‘E” is part-time evening student)
Professor Heidi Robertson
“Professor Robertson has gone above and beyond the call of duty every step of the way. She has continued her fun, relatable, and engaging style effortlessly into the online platform. She has even provided a narrated PowerPoint presentation which is…. highly effective and well received. She has found a way to get all of our missed classwork scheduled in and even reached out about today's zoom call conflicting with her make up class. She really thinks of everything, and then some.” - 1L Student
Professor Kevin O’Neill
“Professor O'Neill has been great by recognizing that his approach to Civil Procedure is unique… I respect his approach to teaching this course and I continue to get a lot out of it. He has made his cell phone available as well as Zoom office hours and sends very timely responses to any and all emails for the entire class to read. His communication has really been second to none during this time.” – 1L student
Professor Peter Garlock
“Professor Garlock has been truly inspiring to me. Being a seasoned professor, he ….has fluidly adapted his tough and engaging Socratic method style within the confines of the Zoom platform. …for someone who has claimed to not be a fan of technology, he has adapted and thrived. He has shared about his personal situation, sharing time with his wife on the computer, which has made him that much more relatable. His tough approach still pushes people to be their best even through the online platform.” -1L student
Professor Brian Glassman
“I just wanted to thank you for working to make our change over to online classes so smooth. I hear students all the time complaining about how difficult it is to transition from in-class to online, but few considered how tough it was for the professors to totally transition with just over a week of notice….. I am sure we are all better prepared for our legal careers coming out of your classes this 1L year.” – 1L
Professor Patti Falk
“We can talk about some pretty depressing topics in criminal law, but Professor Falk does her best to keep class upbeat and interactive. Even with the technological changes, Professor Falk has kept us moving through the material. I'm confident that now I will be as prepared for her final exam as I would be even if classes were not digital. I also really appreciate how she greets the students individually as we are waiting for the Zoom class to start. It's always nice to be recognized - especially for those who may be getting limited human interaction in the day otherwise!” -1LE student
“I would like to highlight the work of Professor Patricia Falk. As we've transitioned online, I've been very impressed with her ability to learn the online technology and continually provide PowerPoint and learning materials to progress our learning. Her visual and easy-to-understand learning materials have helped me improve my knowledge of criminal law. Her added effort has become especially necessary as in-person learning has ceased and we lack the ability to visit our professors during their office hours, or approach them after class if we have lingering questions…. In total, we have spent more than an hour and a half together via Zoom to discuss my writing. I am very thankful to have her as my professor.” 1LE Student
Professor Doron Kalir
“Since the start of remote learning, Professor Kalir has started every class by asking all his students how we are doing, asking for us to share any specific concerns we may have, and for any positive news to report… Even before this pandemic he had become one of my favorite professors, but this pandemic sky-rocketed him right to the top of that list. Professor Kalir is such an asset to C|M|LAW, to his students, and to the legal profession. I so look forward to clinic sessions with him!” – 4LE Student
“Professor Kalir is my professor for the Appellate Clinic and every class he begins by asking how we are. He listens to each student, or if they don’t want to talk, he respects that as well. He also shares what is going on in his household, so it makes us feel like we are all in this together. It is really nice to feel like he cares about what is going on in our lives outside of school, and I feel very lucky to have him as a professor this semester.” – 4LE student
Nick De Santis, Director of Academic Support
“Nick De Santis and the academic support staff have not missed a beat since the transition happened. I am personally going to be forever grateful for what he does and how available he and his team have been during this time. I did not do as well as I should have in my first semester ….. Nick has me turned around and feeling positive about the direction I am heading in. He has done so much for me and other students, it truly is hard to put into words how valuable he is during this exact situation.” – 1L student
Mary Jane McGinty, Director of Bar Exam Preparation
“Mary Jane McGinty has been having a lot of office hours to accommodate any questions/anxiety we may have about the bar exam. When I emailed her about something else, she asked me how I was doing, which is something small but means a lot.” - 3L student
Adjunct Professors Judge John Russo ‘92 and Paul Daiker ‘93
“Professor Daiker and Judge Russo clearly have a lot on their plates, dealing with clients and the courts in light of COVID-19 and trying to teach us remotely via Zoom at the same time. But they remind us each class that they're here for us if we need to talk about anything, not just criminal procedure. This is not surprising because their lectures are focused on teaching us from experience, and they're leading us to become compassionate practioners someday. We really appreciate how humanistic they are and look forward to their classes every week.” – 3LE Student
Vince Lombardo ‘81 and Professor Emerita/Public Interest Leader-in-Residence Susan Becker ’83
“My alumni mentor, Vince Lombardo, and Leader-In-Residence Susan Becker both reached out to me within the first week of virtual classes not only to check-in on how I was handling the changes that the pandemic has brought, but to offer support and guidance as well. I am very thankful for them both!”– 2L Student
A Message from John Calabrese ’12, President of Our Alumni Association
“In June 2019, I spoke at our Annual Meeting and vowed to make this organization more inclusive … and one of those means was to include our students.” -John Calabrese ‘12, President, Cleveland-Marshall Alumni Association (CMLAA)
Please join the CMLAA for a Virtual Dance Party this Thursday, April 30, 7-8p.m. View invitation
My deep thanks to our students, faculty, staff, alumni, leaders-in-residence, and the university for supporting each other during this unprecedented public health crisis. If you missed CSU President Harlan Sands’ 6th virtual Town Hall on Wednesday, April 22, you can see it here.
Have a great day. Have a great week.
For copies of past messages, please go to this link: Monday Morning Messages.
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My views in all my Monday Morning Messages are my personal views alone and do not reflect the views of our law school or our university.
My best,
Lee
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