At the midwinter gathering of legal academics in January, wedged in among the looseleaf services and the CD-ROM publishers, a dealer in rare books was displaying one of his prized offerings: a collection of the correspondence of our former student Clarence Darrow. The collection belongs to Darrow’s granddaughters, and it features letters from many people who would rank high in a list of America’s most notable citizens during the first half of the twentieth century — from Jane Addams to W.E.B. duBois, to H.L. Mencken. I was enthralled.
Darrow and his accomplishments have been frequently in my mind these past few weeks. For it is the season when we undertake the difficult task of choosing a new class of law students (the Class of 1999, to be precise). And it is therefore also the season when, from among that class, we select our Clarence Darrow merit scholars.
Over the past decade, several of our graduates have made generous gifts to the Law School to endow merit scholarships named collectively in honor of our former student. As dean, one of my most enjoyable tasks is to receive the dossiers of the students whom the faculty committee has selected to become “Darrows,” and to notify them that they are winners. I must say that reading the files of our Darrows gives one cause for great optimism about the human condition.
For one thing, they reflect a breathtaking range of backgrounds, including prior studies in almost any field one can imagine studying and prior work in all manner of occupations, both paid and unpaid. For another, they reveal profound commitments to deepen understanding and to improve our world. The sheer quality of their accomplishments inspires awe. But I find most exhilarating the letters of recommendation that convey the writers’ sense that they have been privileged to know people of extraordinary integrity, people whose words and actions are an example and an inspiration to others.
In late February, our Board of Regents asked me to chair the committee that will recommend to the Board a set of candidates from which to select the next President of the University of Michigan. In presenting us with our charge, the Regents listed the qualities we should be seeking. The list is long, and it expresses their expectation that, among other things, the next President will “have a distinguished record of accomplishment,” “be able to motivate others,” “be willing to take measured risks for the achievement of academic excellence,” and “possess the highest degree of personal integrity.” I am optimistic that we can meet rhis worthy challenge. In a way, what we are doing is searching for another Darrow.
