A Thanksgiving Message from Chancellor and Dean David Faigman

David Faigman is chancellor and dean of UC Hasitngs College of the Law.

Dear UC Law SF Community,

I write to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving. This is a time of year when we reflect upon, and express gratitude for, our good fortune. I am profoundly thankful for all of you.

I joined the UC Law SF faculty more than thirty-five years ago. It sometimes feels like an eternity ago, and sometimes like just yesterday. Much has changed over this time. The faculty has turned over nearly completely, and over that time has only gotten stronger, more dedicated to great teaching and more committed to outstanding scholarship and public service. Over these many years the staff has become ever more professional and devoted to the success and well-being of our students. And our student-body has changed. It is dramatically more diverse, more talented, and more committed to the rule of law and advancing justice than ever.

What has not changed for me, however, is my gratitude for being part of this incredible community. I well understand, of course, that within this great community, there are multitudes. How could there not be, as we trumpet that very fact in celebrating our diversity? But those multitudes stand upon a foundation of inclusion and the promise of equity.

We are engaged in a common enterprise. Whether destined to be public defenders or prosecutors, corporate counsel or non-profit counsel, working primarily for plaintiffs or defendants, in business or the tech sector, or in government service or opposing the reach of government, the legal profession is the framework on which our constitutional democracy is built. And while we inevitably confront challenges to keeping that creation healthy, the glue that ultimately keeps it together is made of trust and respect that can only be developed and strengthened over time and through experience.

My time and experience at UC Law SF have given me the faith, the unalterable belief, in the legal profession. For that, I have you to thank. I am daily reminded in my interactions with students, staff, and faculty of your talent, resourcefulness, and dedication. I am grateful every day to be part of the UC Law SF community and ever so proud to have you as part of my extended family.

I wish you and yours a Healthy and Happy Thanksgiving.

Warm regards,
David

David L. Faigman
Chancellor and Dean
William B. Lockhart Professor of Law and
John F. Digardi Distinguished Professor of Law
University of California Hastings College of the Law