Does Yale's Hiring Of Garrett West Signal That Incentives On Campuses Are Changing For The Better?

Brian Leiter (Chicago), Not An April Fool's joke: Yale Law School Hires an Experienced and Talented Lawyer to the Regular Faculty:

After being demoted to the 6th best law school in the country last year by USNEWS.COM, things seem to be changing!  Jokes aside, Mr. West is very talented, but what's remarkable is that YLS hired him:  a smart, articulate lawyer who knows a ton of law, and (I am told) is "conservative" (whatever that means).  ... [C]ongratulations to Mr. West and to Yale!

Washington Free Beacon, Incentives on Campus Start To Change:

We couldn't help but smile when we saw Yale Law School dean Heather Gerken announce the school's new tenure-track professor, Garrett West. A former law clerk for Supreme Court justice Samuel Alito, Judge Thomas Griffith of the D.C. Circuit, and Judge Diarmuid O'Scannlain of the Ninth Circuit, West is … a conservative? ...

On the one hand, it is nice to see that the incentives on campus are changing, and that administrative pole-climbers like Gerken, who is gunning for a promotion from law school dean to Yale president, now feel the need to demonstrate they have a care for ideological diversity. ...

West's arrival in New Haven is a start, but Yale Law School has a long way to go. There are other signs, however, that the incentives on campus are changing for the better. ...

The sane, sober, and sensible among us—parents, alumni, students, and donors—should not despair. There are glimmers of hope in this fight to restore sanity to American college campuses.

Disclosure:  Pepperdine Caruso Law extended an offer to Garrett to join our faculty. We are disappointed that Garrett declined our offer but are very happy for him and for Yale.