A law school dean is usually the highest-ranking administrator in a law school.
A law school dean is usually the highest-ranking administrator in a law school.
Almost every American law school refers to its highest-ranking administrator as a dean. Most also have several assistant, associate, or vice deans (such as an associate dean of academics or an associate dean of students). The American Bar Association regulations on the operation of law schools, which must be followed for such institutions to receive and maintain ABA accreditation, define the role of the law school dean. These regulations specify that "A law school shall have a full-time dean, selected by the governing board or its designee, to whom the dean shall be responsible." [1] Thus, a law school dean may not merely be a professor selected by fellow professors, nor even by the president of the university, as is often the case with university departments.
A 1977 article, Law School Deans: A Self-Portrait, describes appointment as dean of a law school as "a great honor... often the pinnacle of the career of one who has labored long in the academic legal community. Upon appointment, the law dean becomes a leader among leaders". [2] The article further proposes that persons holding this office "have the opportunity to act out nearly any part they desire to act out", whether that be as a "prime mover, or... guard of the status quo... a trailblazer or weather vane; a builder or a mere housekeeper". [2] In 1980, Jeffrey and Thomas O'Connell published The Five Roles of the Law School Dean: Leader, Manager, Energizer, Envoy, Intellectual, the authors identified five functions that must be undertaken by those holding the position. [3] Boston College Law School interim dean James Rogers noted, "[i]n general, to be a successful law school dean... you need to be a distinguished scholar", but lamented that the position itself "allows you very little time for those activities that led you to the job in the first place". [4] In particular, law school deans are also widely expected to engage in fundraising activities. [5]
In order to advance the interests of their institutions, law school deans must generally "maintain a positive relation with the state supreme court, the bar examiners, and other organized bar leaders who exercise some power to regulate law schools". [6] More recently, fundraising has become a critical element of the profession, with Harvard Law School dean Robert C. Clark observing in 1998 that fundraising had gone from almost a nonexistent activity to taking up a third of his time, also stating that as a law school dean, "[y]ou've got to be the CEO of a large administrative staff... while being an intellectual, a political leader, and a fund-raiser". [4] University of South Dakota School of Law dean Thomas Geu wrote an article comparing a law school deanship to a complicated game in which the dean must marshal and hold onto resources which will be meagerly awarded for feats like increasing bar exam scores or negotiating an amicable collective bargaining agreement with the faculty, but removed in much larger measure if bar exam scores fall or if the collective bargaining agreement is reached acrimoniously. [7]
The average tenure of a law school dean has declined over time. [2] In 1987, it was noted that "the average deanship tenure is less than four years", [6] a trend that continued into the 2010s, with the average tenure as of 2017 being 3.66 years. [8] This contrasted with the experience of prior eras, in which the average tenure of a law school dean was 12 years. [8] In 2021, National Jurist Magazine reported that the average tenure was 4.1 years, noting that only 11 of the hundreds of law school deans then serving had served in that position in a single institution for longer than ten years, and that Brad Toben, dean of Baylor Law School, was by far the longest-serving, having been in that office for over 29 years. [9] At that time, two dozen law school deans had cumulative decanal service of over ten years, across multiple different law schools. [9]
The University of California, Davis School of Law is the professional graduate law school of the University of California, Davis. The school received ABA approval in 1968. It joined the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) in 1968.
The University of Georgia School of Law is the law school of the University of Georgia, a public research university in Athens, Georgia. It was founded in 1859, making it among the oldest American university law schools in continuous operation. Georgia Law accepted 14.83% of applicants for the class entering in 2023.
The Santa Clara University School of Law is the law school of Santa Clara University, a Jesuit university in Santa Clara, California, United States, in the Silicon Valley region. The School of Law was founded in 1911. The Jesuit affiliation of the university is manifested in a concern with ethics, social justice, and community service.
Dean is a title employed in academic administrations such as colleges or universities for a person with significant authority over a specific academic unit, over a specific area of concern, or both. In the United States and Canada, deans are usually university professors who serve as the heads of a university's constituent colleges and schools. Deans are common in private preparatory schools, and occasionally found in middle schools and high schools as well.
Jeffrey Sean Lehman is an American legal scholar and academic administrator who is the vice chancellor of New York University Shanghai. Known as an advocate for the role of universities in globalization, he previously served as chancellor and founding dean of the Peking University School of Transnational Law in Shenzhen, China, president of Cornell University, dean of the University of Michigan Law School, and chairman of Internet2.
The University of San Diego School of Law is the law school of the University of San Diego, a private Roman Catholic research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1954, the law school has held ABA approval since 1961. It joined the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) in 1966.
Thomas Jefferson School of Law (TJSL) is a private law school in San Diego, California. It offers a Juris Doctor and three Master of Laws programs, including one that is exclusively online, as well as a combined J.D./M.B.A. with San Diego State University.
California Western School of Law is a private law school in San Diego, California. It is one of two successor organizations to California Western University, the other being Alliant International University. The school was founded in 1924, approved by the American Bar Association (ABA) in 1962, and became a member of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) in 1967.
Whittier Law School was a law school in Costa Mesa, California founded in 1966. The law school was part of Whittier College, a private institution. After several years being ranked among the poorest-performing law schools in the United States based on bar passage rate and job placement, Whittier Law School announced in April 2017 that it would no longer be admitting students and would discontinue its legal program, becoming the first law school with full accreditation by the American Bar Association (ABA) to shut down in at least 30 years. Since the school's closure, transcript requests are now handled by Whittier College.
Ave Maria School of Law is a private Roman Catholic law school in Vineyards, Florida. It was founded in 1999 and is accredited by the American Bar Association. The school is perennially ranked as the "most conservative" and "most devout" law school in the United States.
Atlanta's John Marshall Law School (AJMLS) is a private for-profit law school in Atlanta, Georgia. It was founded in 1933 and named for John Marshall, the fourth chief justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. AJMLS is accredited by the American Bar Association.
Florida Coastal School of Law was a private for-profit law school in Jacksonville, Florida. It was established in 1996 and was the last operating of three for-profit law schools of the InfiLaw System owned by Sterling Partners. Because of funding and accreditation issues, the school closed its doors in 2021. U.S. News & World Report ranks Coastal Law 147-193, its lowest law school ranking. In July 2022, the school had the lowest Florida bar passage rate of all Florida law schools, at 31%.
The Valparaiso University Law School was the law school of Valparaiso University, a private university in Valparaiso, Indiana. Founded in 1879, the school was accredited by the American Bar Association in 1929 and admitted to the Association of American Law Schools in 1930. In October 2016, the ABA censured the school for admitting applicants who did not appear capable of satisfactorily completing the school's program of legal education and being admitted to the bar. One year later, the school suspended admissions and shut down after the last class graduated in 2020.
The Gonzaga University School of Law is the professional school for the study of law at Gonzaga University. Established in 1912, the Jesuit-affiliated law school has been fully accredited by the American Bar Association since 1951, and is a member of the Association of American Law Schools.
Fordham University School of Law is the law school of Fordham University. The school is located in Manhattan in New York City, and is one of eight ABA-approved law schools in that city. In 2013, 91% of the law school's first-time test takers passed the bar exam, placing the law schools' graduates as fifth-best at passing the New York bar exam among New York's 15 law schools.
The Liberty University School of Law is the law school of Liberty University, a private evangelical Christian university in Lynchburg, Virginia. The school offers the J.D., L.L.M., and J.M. degrees.
The Washington and Lee University School of Law is the law school of Washington and Lee University, a private liberal arts college in Lexington, Virginia. It is accredited by the American Bar Association. Facilities are on the historic campus of Washington and Lee University in Sydney Lewis Hall. W&L Law has a total enrollment of approximately 365 students in the Juris Doctor program and a 6-to-1 student-to-faculty ratio.
The University of South Dakota School of Law also known as University of South Dakota Knudson School of Law or USD Law in Vermillion, South Dakota, United States, is a professional school of the University of South Dakota and the only law school in the state of South Dakota. Established in 1901, by U.S. Ambassador Bartlett Tripp and U.S. Senator Thomas Sterling. The law school is home to approximately 168 students and has more than 3,000 alumni. With 168 J.D. candidates, it is currently the second-smallest law school and smallest public law school student population among the American Bar Association accredited law schools.
The West Virginia University College of Law is the professional school for the study of law at West Virginia University in Morgantown, West Virginia, United States. The law school was established in February 20,1878 as the first professional school in the state, and remains the only law school in the state.
The University of North Texas at Dallas College of Law (UNT Dallas College of Law) is a law school institution accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA). It is located at 106 S. Harwood St. in the UNT Dallas Law Center. The parent institution is University of North Texas at Dallas (UNTD) and is the only public law school in Dallas. The first class entered in the fall of 2014. The school was originally housed in the historic Titche-Goettinger Building in downtown Dallas.