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“Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you….” -Ralph Waldo Emerson

As Thanksgiving approaches this week,

I’m thankful for:

• our talented faculty, students, and staff who come together every day to teach and learn in ways that are collaborative and spirited. 
• our loyal alumni and former faculty, staff, and deans for building an iconic law school that is an enduring, essential piece of the fabric of our city, region, and state.
• our generous donors and supporters, including our Board of Visitors and Law Alumni Association, who share their time, treasure, and talent to help our students succeed.
• CSU President Bloomberg, Provost Sridhar, and other leaders of our university who support our efforts to achieve our strategic goals.
• our daily focus on our Mission: Learn Law Live Justice.
• our dedication to our Vision: to be the leading student-centered public law school committed to both excellence and opportunity, with an ethos of social justice and a national voice.
• our Graduate Promise: to be your law school for life.

I’m thankful for being a law school where:

• we welcome diverse viewpoints but where we share common values. 
• we teach our students not only to understand your client’s position but also the complex motivations and positions of all parties.
• we teach that reconciling differences is as important as winning cases.
• we teach that even as you zealously advocate for your clients, you must remain committed to the ethical practice of law and civility.
• we are at our best when we are showing humility, listening to other views, respectfully debating differences, and building consensus.
• we teach our students to question assumptions, doubt what you know, be curious about what you don’t know, and be open to changing your mind.
• we teach our students to seek to understand before trying to be understood.
• we protect the expression of all views, even those we disagree with.
• we teach students how to discern what is true and what is not by examining facts and evidence.
• we ask our students to use their law degree not only to make a difference for their clients but also to make a difference for people they may never meet.
• we are committed to graduate students who are not only successful professionals, but also custodians of civility, defenders of democracy, and guardians of justice.

I’m thankful for the honor to serve as Dean of CSU|LAW.

Wishing you and your loved ones a happy, safe, healthy Thanksgiving.

The views and opinions expressed in my Monday Morning Message are solely my own and do not reflect the views and opinions of the law school or the university. 

For copies of past messages, please go to this link: Monday Morning Messages

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My best,

Lee