Clark said he thought Subramanian would be a particularly valuable addition to HLS’s negotiation program.

“You look around the universe of law schools, [and] plenty of people are doing [work on negotiation], but few would be qualified for an appointment at HLS,” he said.

Looking to the Future

Despite their excitement about the two new appointments, both Clark and Stuntz emphasized the need for continued and increased growth in the HLS faculty.

“If anything, I think this is a year that we’ve underhired,” Stuntz said.

A 1999 McKinsey & Co. study of the school criticized HLS for its lack of student-faculty interaction and identified a number of student complaints, such as a lack of feedback on their work.

Clark and other faculty developed a sweeping strategic plan to reshape teaching at the school, including the plan to grow the faculty and shrink class sizes.

In order to grow by the planned 15 people over the next decade, Stuntz said, HLS will have to hire 30 to 40 new faculty members—amounting to three or four hires each year—over the same time period to overcome normal rates of attrition.

Citing budget constraints and the upcoming HLS capital campaign, Clark said hiring attempts this year were more reserved.

“We weren’t eager to make more than a modest number of appointments [this year],” he said.

However, Clark said he also saw the need to grow the faculty carefully and thoughtfully—with an eye towards hiring faculty with varying backgrounds and specialties.

“We’re trying to build a diversified portfolio,” he said. “The critical thing is do it right.”