Don LeDuc and Cooley Law School have been together almost since the school’s beginning.
Last month, Cooley officials named LeDuc its second president. He has been with the school since 1975 and has served as a professor and dean.
LeDuc was appointed a member of the Board of Directors last month, and he will continue his duties as dean.
He said he hopes to improve the perception people have of Cooley, which was founded in 1972.
“It’s interesting, because the hard part for all schools, is that image and reputation tend to drive things rather than the quality of the school,” LeDuc said. “Before MSU and DCL got together, I would have said Cooley and DCL were very comparable schools, yet we’ve always struggled because we weren’t known nationally.”
MSU-Detroit College of Law is one reason why Cooley continues trying to improve its reputation, LeDuc said. The schools often compete for the same students.
The two can use their competitive nature to improve their national rankings, he said.
According to The U.S. News & World Report, both schools were ranked in the fourth tier of law schools. The fourth tier begins with schools ranked after the top 133 schools.
He said Cooley is known for its writing and research program, but would like to advance other aspects of the school.
But it’s hard for both schools to improve their ratings if no one knows they exist, he said.
“You work together as much as you can, but we’re also competitors,” he said. “We try to pretend that’s not so, but in the end there’s only a certain amount of people who want to go to law school.
“We’re always going to struggle with you in our neighborhood - your football team is better than ours.”
As for academics, LeDuc said he hopes to work with DCL Dean Terence Blackburn.
“He’s a great dean,” LeDuc said. “He is really a competent person, and I think he’s very sharp, we get along fine - I’m hopeful we’ll bridge whatever the differences are and get ahead.”
Blackburn said he thinks the two will work well together, although he doesn’t expect the change to affect DCL.
“I’ve known Don LeDuc since soon after I came here to MSU-DCL in July 1995,” he said. “We’ve always got along and I’ve enjoyed working with him. I think that we’re looking forward to a good working relationship.”
Judge Thomas Brennan, who founded Cooley and was its only other president, said he recommended LeDuc to the board because of the dean’s experience.
“He’s been the dean for about five years,” Brennan said. “Over the years, I’ve tried to give him more responsibility. While I was always in touch with the office, I’ve always tried to give Don more responsibility.
“It’s been a very exciting thing to see how people have responded.”
After being president of Cooley for 26 years, Brennan is now enjoying warm weather and sunshine in Florida. He said the decision to retire wasn’t his alone.
“At the age of 72 my wife said I get to do anything I want to do,” he said.
He chose a life of playing golf 30 miles from Tampa, but is still a consultant for Cooley.
Some students have been pleased with LeDuc’s move to president. Aundrea Melancon, a third-year Cooley student, said LeDuc always was accessible and representative of students as dean.
“He’s making a lot of changes,” Melancon said. “I think it’s for the better. He is introducing innovative and fast paced goals to the school - it’s always good to have fresh blood.”
