Does innovation matter? A depressing statistic, leadership, and the rewarding of risk

Here's a depressing statistic:  The same schools have been in the top 14 of the U.S. News rankings since the mid-90's.  In other words, there has been no movement in or out of that group despite the  development of distinctive programs at several schools.  Given that there have been varying levels of change and improvement among schools in the top rank, this means that innovation, or a lack of it, has not mattered much. 

The above statement is true only if a school judges its value primarily in terms of the U.S. News ranking.  Sadly, whether they admit it or not, this is true of many schools, the leaders of which often have to answer to non-lawyers who care about carefully parsed numerical rankings, which look to an outsider like a fairly objective measure of quality.   It may not be surprising, then, that those leaders do not care much about innovation (especially in teaching) when they consider lateral hires, promotion, and pay for law professors. 

Unfortunately, I don't see the Deadwood rankings Doug refers to below as doing much to measure innovation, either.  Like the U.S. News survey, it won't measure the student experience in a way that reflects or rewards risk-taking.  Many people have made much of the negatives related to a focus on these rankings, but one of the most damaging may be a general drag on our ability to evolve our schools into something better by encouraging those among us who create positive change at the core of what we do.

-- Mark Osler