David Leebron
Encyclopedia
David W. Leebron is the seventh president of Rice University
. He has been a professor and dean of Columbia Law School
, until he was named president of Rice University
on July 1, 2004. Leebron is the first Jewish president of Rice University
.
, Leebron was influenced by a steady stream of exchange students in his house - from Europe
, Japan
and Mexico
- to develop an interest in international affairs. He later traveled to Germany
as an exchange student himself. He speaks excellent German
.
Leebron earned a Bachelors, summa cum laude, in history and science from Harvard College in 1976, and his JD, magna cum laude, from Harvard Law School
in 1979, where he was president of the Harvard Law Review, notably working with the future Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts
.
After graduating from Harvard Law, Leebron clerked for Judge Shirley M. Hufstedler in Los Angeles
at the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. He taught as a professor at the UCLA School of Law for a semester. Leebron then entered private practice from 1981 to 1983 as an associate at the New York firm Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton. He then re-entered academia as a law professor at New York University
and the director of NYU's International Legal Studies Program from 1983 to 1989. In 1989 he joined the faculty at Columbia Law School
, where he became dean in 1996. He became President of Rice University in 2004. As a professor, he taught and published in areas of corporate finance, international economic law, human rights, privacy and torts. He was also a co-author of a textbook on human rights, though most recently has written about problems in international trade law.
He is member of the New York State bar and, currently inactive, the Hawaii and Pennsylvania bars. He is on the Committee and the American Law Deans Association Board of Directors. He has served on the Association of American Law Schools Committee on Nominations. He is also a member of the American Law Institute (ex officio), the Council on Foreign Relations, the American Society of International Law, the board of directors of the IMAX
Corporation and the editorial board of Foundation Press.
However, as Dean of Columbia Law, Leebron faced conflict with the academic civil liberties group FIRE (Foundation for Individual Rights in Education
) concerning a criminal law examination given by Cardozo Professor of Jurisprudence, George P. Fletcher. The question, titled Revenge of the Big Monkey, posed a hypothetical question of an anti-fertility cult member named David who was hunting pregnant women and killing their fetuses. Gaye, David's last victim, had been unsuccessfully seeking an abortion and after the attack had told doctors that she wanted to write a thank you letter to her assailant. Students, faculty and Leebron himself noted how the question could potentially create a hostile environment and made light of violence towards women. However, others claimed that no matter the content, the exam was protected academic material. While there was no formal reprimand, there was a lack of support for professor Fletcher.
on June 1, 2004.
As president, Leebron has pushed the creation of a vision for the University, called the Vision for the Second Century. Leebron set forth a plan for expansion, calling for opinions from the Rice community. The vision calls for expanding the undergraduate body to around 3800, adding two more residential colleges and expanding the current ones. The new students will mostly come from outside Texas, while the number of Texas students hold steady at around 1300 students.
In November 2008, Leebron traveled to Iran as part of an academic tour sponsored by the Association of American Universities. On this four-day tour, he visited Sharif University, Iran's top engineering school, where he took part in an open question and answer session with Iranian students. Leebron compared his visit to the opening of relations with China during the 1970s.
Leebron has faced recent conflict over his decision not to involve or notify students before announcing that the broadcast tower and frequency of KTRU 91.7 fm, Rice's 50K watt, student-run radio station, which was founded by students over 40 years ago, would be sold to the University of Houston for approximately $9.5 million. UH plans to convert the frequency to a full-time classical music station, freeing KUHF 88.7 fm to broadcast only news and talk programming. Students, faculty, alumni, and other community members have protested the decision, both because of the lack of student dialogue, and because of the effect it could have on media diversity.
Rice University
William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University or Rice, is a private research university located on a heavily wooded campus in Houston, Texas, United States...
. He has been a professor and dean of Columbia Law School
Columbia Law School
Columbia Law School, founded in 1858, is one of the oldest and most prestigious law schools in the United States. A member of the Ivy League, Columbia Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Columbia University in New York City. It offers the J.D., LL.M., and J.S.D. degrees in...
, until he was named president of Rice University
Rice University
William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University or Rice, is a private research university located on a heavily wooded campus in Houston, Texas, United States...
on July 1, 2004. Leebron is the first Jewish president of Rice University
Rice University
William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University or Rice, is a private research university located on a heavily wooded campus in Houston, Texas, United States...
.
Biography
Born to Mr. and Mrs. Norman D. Leebron in 1956, David Leebron was reared in Philadelphia. An Eagle ScoutEagle Scout (Boy Scouts of America)
Eagle Scout is the highest rank attainable in the Boy Scouting program of the Boy Scouts of America . A Scout who attains this rank is called an Eagle Scout or Eagle. Since its introduction in 1911, the Eagle Scout rank has been earned by more than 2 million young men...
, Leebron was influenced by a steady stream of exchange students in his house - from Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
- to develop an interest in international affairs. He later traveled to Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
as an exchange student himself. He speaks excellent German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
.
Leebron earned a Bachelors, summa cum laude, in history and science from Harvard College in 1976, and his JD, magna cum laude, from Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
in 1979, where he was president of the Harvard Law Review, notably working with the future Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts
John Roberts
John Glover Roberts, Jr. is the 17th and current Chief Justice of the United States. He has served since 2005, having been nominated by President George W. Bush after the death of Chief Justice William Rehnquist...
.
After graduating from Harvard Law, Leebron clerked for Judge Shirley M. Hufstedler in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
at the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. He taught as a professor at the UCLA School of Law for a semester. Leebron then entered private practice from 1981 to 1983 as an associate at the New York firm Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton. He then re-entered academia as a law professor at New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
and the director of NYU's International Legal Studies Program from 1983 to 1989. In 1989 he joined the faculty at Columbia Law School
Columbia Law School
Columbia Law School, founded in 1858, is one of the oldest and most prestigious law schools in the United States. A member of the Ivy League, Columbia Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Columbia University in New York City. It offers the J.D., LL.M., and J.S.D. degrees in...
, where he became dean in 1996. He became President of Rice University in 2004. As a professor, he taught and published in areas of corporate finance, international economic law, human rights, privacy and torts. He was also a co-author of a textbook on human rights, though most recently has written about problems in international trade law.
He is member of the New York State bar and, currently inactive, the Hawaii and Pennsylvania bars. He is on the Committee and the American Law Deans Association Board of Directors. He has served on the Association of American Law Schools Committee on Nominations. He is also a member of the American Law Institute (ex officio), the Council on Foreign Relations, the American Society of International Law, the board of directors of the IMAX
IMAX
IMAX is a motion picture film format and a set of proprietary cinema projection standards created by the Canadian company IMAX Corporation. IMAX has the capacity to record and display images of far greater size and resolution than conventional film systems...
Corporation and the editorial board of Foundation Press.
Columbia University under Leebron
As Dean of Columbia Law, Leebron roughly doubled the annual giving and the school's endowment, enhancing financial aid and support for students who enter public service. He was known for recruiting promising junior faculty and holding a strong commitment to diversity in academic positions.However, as Dean of Columbia Law, Leebron faced conflict with the academic civil liberties group FIRE (Foundation for Individual Rights in Education
Foundation for Individual Rights in Education
The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education is a non-profit group founded in 1999 and focused on civil liberties in academia in the United States...
) concerning a criminal law examination given by Cardozo Professor of Jurisprudence, George P. Fletcher. The question, titled Revenge of the Big Monkey, posed a hypothetical question of an anti-fertility cult member named David who was hunting pregnant women and killing their fetuses. Gaye, David's last victim, had been unsuccessfully seeking an abortion and after the attack had told doctors that she wanted to write a thank you letter to her assailant. Students, faculty and Leebron himself noted how the question could potentially create a hostile environment and made light of violence towards women. However, others claimed that no matter the content, the exam was protected academic material. While there was no formal reprimand, there was a lack of support for professor Fletcher.
Rice University under Leebron
Leebron became the 7th President of Rice UniversityRice University
William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University or Rice, is a private research university located on a heavily wooded campus in Houston, Texas, United States...
on June 1, 2004.
As president, Leebron has pushed the creation of a vision for the University, called the Vision for the Second Century. Leebron set forth a plan for expansion, calling for opinions from the Rice community. The vision calls for expanding the undergraduate body to around 3800, adding two more residential colleges and expanding the current ones. The new students will mostly come from outside Texas, while the number of Texas students hold steady at around 1300 students.
In November 2008, Leebron traveled to Iran as part of an academic tour sponsored by the Association of American Universities. On this four-day tour, he visited Sharif University, Iran's top engineering school, where he took part in an open question and answer session with Iranian students. Leebron compared his visit to the opening of relations with China during the 1970s.
Leebron has faced recent conflict over his decision not to involve or notify students before announcing that the broadcast tower and frequency of KTRU 91.7 fm, Rice's 50K watt, student-run radio station, which was founded by students over 40 years ago, would be sold to the University of Houston for approximately $9.5 million. UH plans to convert the frequency to a full-time classical music station, freeing KUHF 88.7 fm to broadcast only news and talk programming. Students, faculty, alumni, and other community members have protested the decision, both because of the lack of student dialogue, and because of the effect it could have on media diversity.