Brian Leiter flagged this report of a hilarious U.S. News rankings gaffe by a fundraiser for the University of Minnesota Law School
A University of Minnesota fundraiser sent an urgent e-mail this week to law school alumni: Please give even $1 by week’s end.
Why? Even 100 pennies from 200 new donors might boost the law school’s alumni giving rate and help its ranking in U.S. News & World Report.
Just one problem: The U.S. News law school rankings don’t count alumni participation. …
It’s a small transgression, for sure. But it comes as the school seeks to restore its top 20 ranking on the influential U.S. News list. The U promoted its law school as a "top 20" destination and "consistently ranked in the top 20." But in March, it slipped to No. 22 among national law schools, out of the U.S. News top 20 for the first time in years. …
So given the recent rankings slip, it made sense on the surface when Anita Foster on Monday sent some alumni a memo titled, "U of MN Law School Support & Rankings." The good news, she wrote, was the school "appears poised to meet this year’s fundraising goal of $750,000." The bad news: It needed more than 200 additional alumni to meets its fiscal year participation goal.
More good news: "Because we’re already set to hit our fundraising goal, we’re looking for just $1 from 200 additional alumni this week! This will improve participation percentages, a factor used to determine the Law School’s place in the well-known U.S. News & World Report rankings."
