Luckily for the Law, Societies, and Justice Program, Professor Michael McCann was willing to assume all of these responsibilities. As a result, the program began strongly a decade ago and has continued a record of impressive success. After serving two five-year terms as the program’s director, McCann stepped down this summer, leaving a legacy that is impressive in its scope and depth.
“It is impossible to overstate Professor McCann’s role in shaping the Law, Societies, and Justice Program,” said Professor Steve Herbert, the new program director. “He almost singlehandedly did all of the administrative legwork to set the Program up, and then worked tirelessly to ensure its continued health.”
During Professor McCann’s tenure as director, several LSJ faculty were hired and all of them were promoted. Interest in the LSJ major and minor grew steadily, as did interest in the related human rights and disability studies minors. According to Professor McCann, the development of LSJ benefited from a variety of factors – timely start-up funding from the university in the late 1990s, strong support from divisional deans in the College, recruitment of a first-rate faculty group, excellent administrative and advising staff, and a cutting-edge curriculum that highlights global legal change. However, he said, “The most gratifying factor has been the enthusiastic response of students, at both undergraduate and graduate levels. It is their intellectual curiosity and civic engagement that motivates the faculty to continue working to improve the already distinguished program. “
Because of the teaching and research excellence of the LSJ faculty, and the enthusiasm of the LSJ student community, the program is in excellent shape as it begins its second decade. For much of that, Professor McCann deserves credit.