Seton Hall Law School Says It's Not Blackmail If They Deserve It and We Need It

I was astonished by this letter to the editor by the Dean of Seton Hall Law School. In response to the suggestion that Bristol-Myers Squibb was essentially blackmailed into endowing a professorship at Seton Hall Law by an alumnus who is a federal prosecutor, the Dean basically says, 'it isn't wrong because they deserved it.' Here is the Dean in his own words:

"Is that really abusive? At Seton Hall, we believe that had Prof. Epstein investigated more closely he would have paused before declaring that this is the "most striking evidence of the abuse of power." Recent scandals make it clear that far too many corporations have lost their ethical compass. Prof. Epstein would argue that only humans are capable of such a thing. I disagree. The wrong corporate culture can become a breeding ground for unethical, and criminal behavior. Mr. Christie recognized, and BMS and its attorneys agreed, that in order to ensure that such problems would not arise again, an academic partner should be found that could engage the executive leadership of BMS in discussions of best practices and that could offer scholarship examining the difficult and ever-evolving ethical dilemmas of the corporate world."

Got that? Corporations are obviously corrupt and they need academia to save them, and they need to pay us to do it.

Truth is, academe, Seton Hall in particular, has to get their money from somewhere now that all the corporate crooks are in jail.