Hats Off To Kagan

After graduation, Harvard’s numerous alumni spread themselves all over the vast expanses of the globe. Yet after more than three decades, one very important alumnus will return home to Cambridge.

The appointment of Cass R. Sunstein ’75—considered the most widely cited legal authority in the United States—to the faculty of Harvard Law School last Wednesday was received with vibrant enthusiasm. Dean of the Faculty of Law Elena Kagan even proclaimed that “If I could add only one person to the faculty, Cass would be that person.”

Sunstein’s appointment is truly a boon to the law school and the Harvard community, yet it is only one of the accomplishments Kagan can boast during her tenure as dean. This latest success is an encouraging sign of the degree to which Kagan has thoroughly revitalized the law school. Her numerous accomplishments are a credit to herself and her tenure, and also reflect favorably upon the University as a whole.

Under Kagan’s wise leadership, the law school has seen the appointment of a number of celebrated and widely respected legal figures in the past few months (including Noah Feldman, an accomplished scholar of the intersection between religion and politics). The intellectual firepower of these academics will help to elevate the law school’s already stellar reputation, and will fundamentally benefit the nature of discourse in Cambridge itself.

Kagan’s accomplishments have not been limited to the acquisition of new faculty members. She has proven to be extremely popular with both the law student body and the law school administration. In spite of being passed over for Harvard’s presidency early last year, Kagan has been deemed the “perfect” dean by some. Indeed, this praise and enthusiasm from her student body earned her a well-deserved celebration of her work as dean in February 2007.

Dean Kagan’s tenure has been distinguished by much success, with Sunstein’s appointment being only the capstone. We wish her the best of luck in future endeavors, and hope to see similar accomplishments in the future.