Episode 153. Rana Dershowitz, A Career Driven by Passion from Sports Law and Public Policy
The 92 Report
Rana Dershowitz went straight to Harvard Law School after graduating in 1992, partly due to the economy and her love for learning. She describes her experience at Harvard Law School, including her role as a law school "old timer" in Cambridge. After law school, Rana moved back to New York and started working on Wall Street, initially hating the big law environment but appreciating the people she worked with. Entertainment Law at Madison Square Garden and onto Sports Law Rana discusses her career counselor's advice to explore sports law, which she had overlooked despite her involvement in...
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152. Eugene Kim, Pediatric Surgeon and Wine Connoisseur
The 92 Report
Show Notes: Eugene Kim shares his post-graduation journey staying in Boston to finish research at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute which was part of his thesis and also laid down the groundwork for his own cancer research which he has conducted over the years. He credits his understanding of science to his time at Harvard. He also worked at the now-closed Love the Border Cafe. Eugene reflects on the valuable lessons learned from working at the cafe and describes the unique subculture of the cafe's staff, including the Brazilian kitchen staff and the diverse backgrounds of the waiters and...
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151. Jonathan Hughes, Consulting at the Intersection of Strategy & Conflict Management
The 92 Report
Show Notes: Jonathan Hughes talks about his career in consulting, starting with an economic consulting firm, Putnam Hayes and Bartlett, in Los Angeles. He mentions his connection back to Harvard through CMI (Conflict Management Inc.) founded by Roger Fisher and Bruce Patton, and his subsequent roles at Vantage Partners and BDO. The Career Path As a Consultant Jonathan describes his role at CMI, focusing on complex negotiations and business partnerships, and his role in helping to start the boutique firm, Vantage Partners where he spent around 25 years as a partner. He later moved over to BDO,...
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150. Steve Petersen, From Improv to Philosophy of AI
The 92 Report
Show Notes: Steve recounts his senior year at Harvard, and how he was torn between pursuing acting and philosophy. He graduated with a dual degree in philosophy and math but also found time to act in theater and participated in 20 shows. A Love of Theater and a Move to London Steve explains why the lack of a theater major at Harvard allowed him to explore acting more than a university with a theater major. He touches on his parents' concerns about his career prospects if he pursued acting, and his decision to apply to both acting and philosophy graduate schools. Steve discusses his...
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149. P.J. Karafiol, Chicago Public High School Principal
The 92 Report
Show Notes: P.J. shares the backstory of his name and how he became a high school principal. He studied simultaneously in law school for a JD and in the Philosophy department for a PhD at the University of Chicago. After realizing he didn't enjoy law or philosophy, he taught math at Phillips Andover and later in Chicago. He helped start a new public school, Walter Payton College Prep, and has been a principal at Lake View High School for the past 10 years. Teaching Chaos Theory and Math P.J. describes his experience teaching at Phillips Andover, including teaching chaos theory. He found the...
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148. Scott Cole, 50+ Jobs Worked Since Harvard
The 92 Report
Show Notes: Scott Cole describes his initial struggles at Harvard, dropping out after freshman year, and returning multiple times before finally graduating in 2012. He shares his first dropout experience, including a brief stint in California and a return to Harvard for sophomore year. He details his various jobs and adventures, including working at a car wash, landscaping, and a research assistant position at Harvard Forest. Working on a Ranch in Wyoming Scott thinks back to his days working at a ranch in Wyoming, where he learned cowboy skills and participated in cattle drives. He...
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147. Anca Miruna Achim, Teaching about the Past to Speculate about the Future in Mexico City
The 92 Report
Show Notes: Miruna studied art history at Harvard, focusing on Renaissance art. After taking a year off to travel and visit Romania, she decided to study Latin American Studies and Spanish and Portuguese at Yale. She found the graduate experience at Yale challenging, especially the sense of isolation that can come with graduate work when it is not socially or politically involved. Miruna began traveling to Mexico for her research on colonial Latin America, focusing on the intersection of history of science, literature, and ritual. Teaching History of Science Miruna moved to Mexico City, where...
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146. Franklin Habit, A Long and Winding Yarn
The 92 Report
Show Notes:Franklin Habit talks about working in higher education administration (and elsehwere) before eventually finding happiness in his current profession within the fiber arts. He discusses some of the blind alleys he explored, including museum work, opera stage directing, web design, and online marketing. Building a Career in KnittingFranklin shares how he learned to knit from a veteran knitter and classmate, Eliza Lake. He describes how his blog about knitting took off, leading to a book deal and a career in teaching and writing. Franklin recounts the early days of his blog,...
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145. Diego Fonstad, Educational Toys and Ed Tech Tinkerer
The 92 Report
Show Notes: Diego kicks off the conversation with a quick review of his career path, which included working at a business school in Barcelona, consulting in biotech and healthcare, and working as product manager and product running product groups. He then went back to business school. He talks about his job at the business school in Barcelona and what prompted him to take it. He explains that the opportunity arose through a professor he knew, and the timing of the 1992 Olympics made it hard to resist. He shares his insights on Catalonia's cultural differences and the importance of knowing...
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144. Kellie Doucette, Unexpected Journey: Pink Sand Beaches to New Jersey Politics
The 92 Report
Show Notes: Kellie Doucette describes her journey as zigs and zags, with three distinct chunks defined by her location: Northern Virginia, Bermuda, and New Jersey. She worked for a small health policy consulting firm called the Lewin Group in Northern Virginia, DC, where she met her future husband, John Doucette. A 13-Year Stint in Bermuda Kellie, an actuary, began her career in the Bermuda market after taking the actuarial exams. She and her husband moved to Bermuda in 1996, and they enjoyed the adventure of visiting family on the East Coast and raising their children there. The reinsurance...
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Bo Rutledge, a professor and dean at the University of Georgia Law School, opens the conversation by talking about his parents, who made sacrifices to support their children's education, and how he felt called to serve and worked for the governor in California where he met many inspiring civil servants.
A Graduate Degree and Long-Distance Relationship
In Scotland, he obtained a graduate degree and met his wife Birgit, who is Austrian. They had a wonderful year together overseas and then spent three years in a long-distance relationship while Bo attended law school and Brigit studied to become a teacher. After graduating, Bo clerked for two years, and briefly practiced law in Europe. After the birth of their first child, Bo and Birgit decided to become teachers, Bo as a law professor and Brigit as a foreign language teacher. They have both been teaching for nearly 22 years.
Inspiring Students as a Professor and Dean
Bo's parents instilled in him an appreciation for education and the power of education. As a professor and dean, he has worked to inspire students about the power of education and the ability to realize their full potential without letting debt hinder them in their careers. In the ten years he has served as Dean, his efforts have led to a significant reduction in student debt and the creation of a generation of people who feel the freedom Bo experienced thanks to his parents.
A Law School Crisis
Bo faced a crisis in 2014-15 due to a decline in law school applications. Legal education had experienced a 40% drop in national and 50% drop in local applications. To overcome this, Bo focused on the institution's values. Inspired by the belief that “public higher education is the greatest engine of upward socio-economic mobility in our society”, he acknowledged that tuition increases contributed to the student debt crisis and decided not to increase tuition for the students at the University of Georgia Law School.
Building Support for Students
In conjunction with a freeze on tuition fees, the school also communicated with the school's supportive alumni cohort, who provided financial support, job opportunities, and counsel. They had a team of 125 people, including faculty and staff, who cared about the impact they could have on students' lives who helped support measures taken to accommodate the low intake of students. They cut 7.5% of their operating budget in the first 18 months, and invested in revenue-generating opportunities and fundraisers. As Dean, Bo measured success ruthlessly, using values rather than spending per student. They focused on student success, job creation, and debt reduction. This approach helped the university navigate the crisis and refine its message. Bo talks about how the recession caused a decline in public investment in public institutions, and how he helped drive support for students and inspire students.
One Student Success Story
Bo shares the reason why one student decided to go to law school, and how the relationship with alumni presented a strong support group for this student. This story has galvanized Bo’s resolve to focus on helping students over the years. Bo mentions that one focus of the school is to support first-generation graduates. He emphasizes that higher education is truly special in a world where most people in prior generations and societies couldn't afford or attend college, and it offers the opportunity to connect with a mentor.
The Higher Education Affordability Crisis
Bo believes that the affordability crisis in higher education is fixable and has written published articles on this topic. He believes that the student loan industry is a mixed blessing. It allows people access to institutions they otherwise couldn't afford, but it also makes it easier for institutions to raise tuition. He also highlights the lack of clear ownership lines or a clear line of accountability to boards and shareholders in most higher education institutions. He learned that, as a dean, one must figure out their accountability mechanisms and constituencies in a world without a simplified structure. In summary, Bo's experience as dean has taught him about the economics of institutions, the difficulty of shaping the culture, and the importance of accountability in higher education institutions.
Travel Personally and Professionally
Bo has traveled extensively for nearly 40 years. He spent his first couple of years in Vienna, Austria, practicing law at an international law firm. Two places that stuck with him were Budapest, Hungary, and Ostrova, Czech Republic. He shares stories of the people he met and how their experience gave him insight into living under communist rule. He has also traveled to countries like Poland and India, where their university traditions are both historically rich and still very nascent, and how they are inspired by the education system in the U.S. Bo has had the privilege of meeting people from different backgrounds and this has allowed him to understand the challenges and opportunities faced by students in different countries, and to bring these experiences back to the university.
Influential Harvard Professors and Courses
Bo mentions professors Michael Sandel, Dennis Thompson, and Stanley Hoffmann. He cites Sandel's justice class as an inspiration for a course he teaches to undergrads on moral dilemmas, which, in addition to the course topics, focuses on teaching the ability to discuss and debate socially divisive topics. He mentions Dennis Thompson's teachings on Political Ethics and Public Policy, Stanley Hoffman's teachings on Ethics and International relations, and Paul Pierson and Mark Peterson. Pierson taught Bo how to have faith in his ideas, while Peterson taught him how to write. He believes that Harvard is both intellectually intimidating and liberating, as it allows students to confront ethically nettlesome issues.
Timestamps:
03:26: Early Career and Mentorship
05:02: Service and Educational Reform
16:33: Inspiring Students and Overcoming Challenges
23:55: Lessons Learned as Dean
28:53: Influential Books and Personal Growth
34:05: Travel and Professional Experiences
41:27: Influential Professors and Courses
Link:
Email: borut@uga.edu
Featured Non-profit:
The featured non-profit of this episode of The 92 Report is recommended by Bill Ashmankas who reports:
“Hi. I'm Bill Ashmanskas, class of 1992. The featured nonprofit of this episode of the 92 report is the Delaware Valley golden retriever rescue since 1993 DVGRR has successfully placed 1000s of golden retrievers and other DVGRR dogs into new homes throughout eastern Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey and beyond. DVGRR has been recognized for its innovative work in rescuing and rehabilitating puppy mill breeder dogs. Allison and I adopted our first DVGRR dog in 2015 and our current dog in 2021 both retired breeder dogs, and we've been regular donors since 2015 you can learn more about their work at D, V, G, R, R.org, and now here is Will Bachman with this week's episode.”
To learn more about their work, visit: www. DVGRR.org.