Law School Dean Threatens to Send Graduating 3Ls Back to 1L

Apparently, some 3Ls at this first-tier law school forgot to fill out a form necessary for graduation. In response, an administrator took it upon himself to send out what some tipsters have construed as the most "obnoxious and sarcastic email" ever written. Except he sent the email to the wrong people....

EMAIL FROM EMAIL FROM DEAN RONALD K. CHEN — YOUR FAILURE TO APPLY FOR A DIPLOMA!

Subject: Your Failure to Apply for a Diploma!
From: Ronald Chen
Date: Tue, March 6, 2012 4:01 pm

Didn’t you want to graduate?

If you are receiving this message it is because, despite several imprecations from Dean Garbaccio, you failed to complete the online application to receive your degree in May 2012 by the March 1 deadline. The online system is now closed for May graduation, and will only accept applications for the next application date, which is October 2012.

If it was actually your desire to stay longer with us, we are very flattered, but for those of you who wish to graduate this May and sit for the July Bar exam, you need now to take some additional steps to graduate. In this fail not, upon pain of being tracked with the incoming first year class next fall and starting all over again!

Unfortunately, since you missed the online deadline to apply online to graduate in May, you must now log into the Diploma Application System at:

https://www.ugadmissions.rutgers.edu/DIPLOMA/Login.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2fDIPLOMA%2freview.aspx

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using your University login and password. Again, the system will no longer accept applications for May graduation, so you must complete the application for OCTOBER 2012. Provide all the information asked for and complete the online process.

After you have done that, you must send a separate email to [REDACTED]@newark.rutgers.edu, and tell the assistant campus registrar that you have completed the online diploma application for October 2012, and ask (very nicely!) if she will convert you to May 2012.

It is no longer possible for Dean Garbaccio to help you on this. You must contact the campus registrar’s office to put you on the graduation list. Do so with haste, since they are downloading the information you provide very soon to have the diplomas printed. No completed application; no diploma!

With mild remonstrances,

Dean Chen

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RONALD K. CHEN
Vice Dean, Clinical Professor of Law and Judge Leonard I. Garth Scholar
Center for Law & Justice
123 Washington St.
Newark, NJ 07102
http://www.law.newark.rutgers.edu