Dear alumni, alumnae and friends,
As the Class of 2024 crossed the stage this past Saturday, I was reminded of the impact of what this school does every day in our students’ lives. The confident smiles on the graduates’ faces and the pride in their family members’ eyes filled me with great hope about the future of our profession and our society.
With your help, we have made a profound difference in their lives and positioned your alma mater to be the nation’s best return on investment in legal education. With nationally regarded employment and bar passage rates alongside a laser focus on reducing student debt, your Law School is now perfectly positioned to redefine what it means to be a great national public institution.
So it’s with a heart full of emotions that I write to let you know that I have shared with President Jere Morehead and Provost Jack Hu that it’s time to start searching for the next dean. In order to permit sufficient time for a robust search, I will serve in the role through December 31. That will mark my 10-year anniversary in the position.
I want to give a special thank you to President Morehead (J.D.'80) as well as to Kathelen Amos (J.D.'82), who served as our Board of Visitors chair for the first five years of my deanship, and to Marlan Wilbanks (J.D.'86), our current board chair who will see me through the last half. All three have been incredible confidants, supporters and leaders for our school.
Above all else, my wife of 24+ years, Birgit, and our four children (Anna, Marie, Nina and Franki) deserve loving gratitude and boundless credit for supporting me during sleepless nights, long hours, heartbreaking emergencies and a pandemic’s challenges.
Ours is a resilient community, and I hope the remaining months of my deanship will offer many occasions for celebration and fellowship.
Sincerely,
