Message on U.S. News Participation
As a law school that is committed to providing an education that helps develop the whole person, personally and professionally, Creighton Law will not be participating in the U.S. News and World Report law school rankings process this year. The decision was not made lightly, and it comes after thoughtful discussion with a variety of our stakeholders. As a Catholic, Jesuit institution, we take seriously our obligation to educate the whole person and create a more equitable world. Jesuit education facilitates astute awareness, continual reflection, and care for others, all of which are rooted in a meaningful process of discernment.
At Creighton Law, we have always focused our efforts on supporting our students and our community, cultivating the excellence of students, faculty, and staff, and working for the greater good. The reality is that we have not used ranking metrics to drive our decisions or our policies when that would not be beneficial to our students or our community. For the areas measured that provide such benefits, we’re already pursuing those with our best efforts, and we will continue to do so.
We do not question the good faith or good intentions behind the rankings, but the system remains flawed and can incentivize decision making that is contrary to our mission. Among other things, the current system does not account for (or value) regional differences, it does not consider the role of a law school’s mission in the educational process, and it values metrics that do not account for individual skills or holistic assessment of each potential student. We look forward to working with U.S. News and other interested parties to develop a more holistic ranking that provides students with a more nuanced and personalized view of their options, and we believe that is attainable.
For more than 115 years we have been educating lawyers to serve and lead with skill, compassion, and commitment. Our graduates include people from all walks of life from public servants to venture capitalists and M&A lawyers, and from JAG Officers and juvenile defenders to sports agents. We have multiple state and federal judges, as well as two current Chief Justices of state supreme courts. At every level, our graduates serve their communities and their profession. It is no secret that, at Creighton Law, we work hard, we work together, and we expect success. That will not change. For now, stepping away from the U.S. News law school rankings process is the right thing to do for our students, our community, and our distinctive values of academic excellence, careers of leadership, and purposeful lives.
Sincerely,
Joshua P. Fershée, JD
Dean and Professor of Law
Creighton University School of Law
