Valparaiso University law professor Ivan Bodensteiner doesn't consider Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan's lack of judicial experience a negative.

"Maybe it's a plus," Bodensteiner said Monday in the wake of President Barack Obama's announcement of Kagan's nomination. "When you're on the Supreme Court, I'm not sure any prior judging prepares you for that job."

If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Kagan, currently U.S. solicitor general, would be one of three women serving concurrently on the high court, a first for the nation.

"My point is simply I think there's a variety of backgrounds on that court," Bodensteiner said. "If you restrict yourself to (appointing) from the judiciary, you're drawing from a very narrow segment of society."

Nor does Bodensteiner give any credence to predictions Kagan may move the court to the left.

Bodensteiner said Obama's selection of Kagan makes it appear as if he may be playing it safe when it comes to confirmation.

Things could change in a hurry, but there is nothing in Kagan's prior experience that suggests a shift in Kagan's legal stance, he said.

Bodensteiner said he would prefer the court acquire more political balance.

Currently, five justices tilt to the right, he said, with the rest leaning toward moderate or centrist positions. There are nine justices on the court.

"The seats to the left are vacant," he said. "(Kagan) fits in with the moderate or centrist. It doesn't change anything regarding the balance on the court."

Gary Roberts, dean of the Indiana University School of Law-Indianapolis, said Kagan has the qualities to become an effective justice.

Roberts met Kagan at Harvard while he was working on a book project.

"She is not only intellectually brilliant, but she is also personable, charming, politically astute, and very pragmatic," he said.

Roberts credited Kagan with being able to pull together contentious factions while she was at Harvard Law School, where she was the first female dean.

In making his announcement Monday, Obama spoke of Kagan reaching across the ideological spectrum, saying he respected her for her fair-mindedness and skill as a consensus builder.

Obama credited Kagan, as Harvard Law dean, with defending the rights of shareholders and ordinary citizens against unscrupulous corporations and supporting bipartisan campaign finance reform against special interests.

"Elena is widely regarded as one of the nation’s foremost legal minds," Obama said. "She’s an acclaimed legal scholar with a rich understanding of constitutional law."

The president commended the decision by Kagan, the granddaughter of Eastern European immigrants, to forgo corporate law practice in favor of a life of public service.

"I am honored and I am humbled by this nomination and by the confidence you have shown in me," Kagan said.

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Dan Coats, meanwhile, questioned whether Kagan will protect the Constitution as it is written.

Coats asked whether Kagan is a strict constructionist in the mold of Chief Justice John Roberts, an Indiana native, or someone who perceives the Constitution as a "living document."

"I will be closely observing the confirmation process for answers to these questions as the Senate works to determine Elena Kagan's judicial philosophy."

Elena Kagan.

BORN -- April 28, 1960. New York City.

EXPERIENCE -- U.S. solicitor general, 2009-present; dean, Harvard Law School, 2003-09; professor of law, Harvard Law School, 2001; visiting professor, Harvard Law School, 1999-2001; deputy assistant to President Bill Clinton for domestic policy and deputy director of the Domestic Policy Council, 1997-99; associate counsel to President Bill Clinton, 1995-96; professor, University of Chicago Law School, 1991-95; worked in private practice, Washington, 1989-91; law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, 1987-88; clerked for Judge Abner Mikva of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, 1986-87.

EDUCATION -- Princeton University, bachelor's, 1981; Worcester College at Oxford, master's, 1983; Harvard Law School, law degree, 1986.

QUOTE -- "I like to think that one of the good things about me is that I know what I don't know and that I figure out how to learn it when I need to learn it."