By Tracy Domingo
News Assistant
When the names of the six finalists for the Law School deanship were released in mid-February, a few were surprised to see the legendary Ken Starr’s name on the list. Again.
Unbeknownst to many who are less familiar with Pepperdine’s history, this is not the first time Starr has appeared on the School of Law’s want list. In fact, six years ago he was extended and accepted the deanship offer of both the law and public policy schools, but in a phone call to then Pepperdine President David Davenport, Starr withdrew from his appointment.
Later, Starr formally stepped down in a letter stating “I had eagerly looked forward to spending many happy years at Pepperdine after completing my duties as Independent Counsel. The work of that office, however, has expanded considerably, and the end is not yet in sight.”
Starr earned national attention and criticism for his role as Independent Counsel in the Whitewater real estate scandal and the Monica Lewinsky affair that eventually led to the impeachment of former President Clinton.
Now with Starr on the finalist list again for the law school deanship, he may after all get another stab at those “happy years” here at Pepperdine.
The much-anticipated announcement naming which candidate President Andrew K. Benton has decided to extend the job offer to is expected very soon. Last week the tenured faculty at the law school submitted a recommendation to President Benton stating their top-three candidate choices for the deanship. Now, the decision is in the hands of the President. However, as of Graphic’s deadline, no announcements have yet been made.
Among those anxiously awaiting the verdict are both staunch proponents and opponents of Starr. Despite his notoriety throughout the legal world, some are worried of the implications and negative connotations that Starr’s presence on campus may bring.
“I’m sure each candidate brings both strengths and limitations, Starr’s are just more obvious because of his notoriety,” said Chris Soper, political science professor and
Chair of the Social Science Division at Seaver College. “But the danger with Starr is that he comes with baggage because people know his political affiliations. It might just reinforce the image of the school as being somewhat conservative.”
Pepperdine Law professor James Gash is familiar with Soper’s sentiment and said he does not discard it as irrational, but thinks Starr should not be overlooked because of it.
“I understand the argument, but I don’t think it will be actual,” Gash said. “Anyone who takes the time to listen to him will find that he is a very fair-minded person and will invite people here of all political and judicial persuasions.”
Starr has received sharp criticism due to what many viewed as unnecessary probing in his job as Independent Counsel for the Whitewater matter that eventually uncovered the relationship between Lewinsky and Clinton. However, others claim that Starr was merely doing his job thoroughly and this should not affect his possible deanship at Pepperdine.
Visiting political science professor Alan Rozzi said Starr’s taking on a controversial issue should not overshadow the fact that he is known to be an outstanding citizen and well-respected scholar and lawyer.
“If he is unpopular because of his partisanship then that is just politics,” Rozzi said. “Just because people are angry does not mean they are superior. If you take a stand on something and people don’t agree with you, that is the whole nature of a democracy and politics.”
Back when Starr was initially offered the positions of dean at the schools of law and public policy, he was vigorously chastised because of his alleged ties with one of Clinton’s most severe opponents, Richard Mellon Scaife. At the time, it was known that Pepperdine’s School of Public Policy was largely funded by Scaife and many viewed Starr’s position in prosecuting Clinton and his acceptance of the deanship at the School of Public Policy as a major conflict of interest.
However, in the heat of the controversy Starr adamantly denied any ties with Scaife.
Despite some of the negative publicity Starr received over the course of his involvement in the Whitewater issue, some believe Starr’s reputation and experience in the legal community would be very beneficial to Pepperdine’s School of Law.
“He has argued on very critical cases of our day. He brings a substance and depth of the most constitutional magnitude,” Gash explained. “His resume is unmatched by any dean in the nation. Period.”
Starr graduated from the Duke University School of Law in 1973 and went on to clerk under then U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren E. Berger for two years. In 1981, Starr was chosen to serve as a counselor to U.S. Attorney General William French Smith and in 1983 was appointed to serve as a U.S. Circuit Judge for the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. He also served as Solicitor General of the United States and argued 25 monumental cases in front of the Supreme Court. It is often believed that if former President George H.W. Bush would have won the presidency in 1992, Starr would have been appointed to the Supreme Court. Today, Starr is working as a partner for the high-power firm of Kirkland and Ellis in Washington D.C.
“Almost no human alive that is a lawyer has his credentials,” said Rick Richmond a senior partner at Kirkland and Ellis. “He is one of the most well-known, qualified lawyers in our generation. He could be a dean at any law school in the country and he would bring many benefits to Pepperdine.”
For others, however, Starr’s prior activity in the Lewinsky affair could bring an unneeded stigma to the University.
Ralph Erickson, a retired judge and current president of the Malibu Democratic Club said Starr had an unusual interest in presenting evidence in the Monica Lewinsky matter.
“I saw no reason to go into intimate details about sexual behaviors of two consenting adults,” Erickson said. “For that, I question his judgment. I think he’d be a lightening rod for negative publicity for Pepperdine and it would be a mistake to hire him.”
Richmond disagrees.
“No matter if someone is a liberal, conservative, Republican or Democrat, no one can say that he is not the most qualified person to do the job,” Richmond said. “It’s really wonderful for Pepperdine that that’s the school he wants to go to.”
The five other candidates vying for the dean position are Richard Cupp, a professor at Pepperdine’s School of Law; Edward Larson, a professor at the University of Georgia; Charles Nelson, current interim dean and professor at the School of Law; Timothy Perrin, associate provost and professor at the School of Law; William Murray Tabb, Pepperdine law professor; and Judge Fred A. Daughtery, chair in law at the University of Oklahoma College of Law.
Submitted April 1, 2004