Dean, School of Law

Dean, School of Law

The University of Connecticut seeks nominations and applications for the position of Dean of the School of Law. Ranked among the top 25 public research universities nationwide, the University of Connecticut is a public, land-grant, and sea grant, flagship institution with its main campus in Storrs, CT. It is home to four regional campuses and 14 Schools and Colleges, encompassing 10,000 faculty and staff and 32,000 students.

Under the new leadership of President Tom Katsouleas, who began his term in August 2019, UConn enters an exciting phase in its history. President Katsouleas has challenged the University’s administration, faculty, and staff to undertake the ambitious goals of doubling research over the next 10 years, broadly expanding meaningful experiential learning, and preserving accessibility to residents of the state of Connecticut.

Located on a beautiful and historic 17-acre campus in the West End of Hartford, a few minutes away from the State Capitol, courts and agencies, and the offices of Hartford's law firms and corporations, UConn Law School is the top ranked public law school in the Northeast. The School offers a diverse curriculum for its students, including over 150 courses and eight certificate programs for both JD and LLM candidates in various fields. The latter include Insurance Law, where the Law School’s program is recognized as the world leader, and Human Rights, a special focus of the University and a particular strength of the Law School.

UConn Law School was an early leader in experiential legal education and remains at the forefront of this field today, having been one of the first US law schools to require all students to have supervised law practice experience in order to graduate. To meet this requirement, the Law School offers students 19 clinics and field placement courses in which students earn academic credit by representing clients and doing other legal work under the supervision of faculty members or other lawyers.

Reporting to the Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs for all matters, the Dean is the chief administrative and academic officer of the School of Law, providing strategic vision and operational leadership to all aspects of the academic and scholarly program, working with its distinguished faculty to set priorities for the School and guide it toward strategic goals of enhancing scholarship, promoting research and outreach, and providing excellence in professional and graduate education in an academic setting with a diverse population of students, faculty, and staff.

UConn will welcome a Dean who thrives on innovation and the challenges and opportunities of developing, organizing, and managing new initiatives. The faculty at the UConn School of Law are deeply committed to their students, to their research, and to public service. Working with the faculty, the Dean will articulate a vision for the School, defining its role in research and teaching within the University community, the state, and the nation. From that vision, the Dean will shape the organization and, with the faculty, configure, create, and grow programs and attract a student body to realize their success.

The ideal candidate will be an experienced, inclusive, and collaborative leader, institutionally ambitious and creative, and committed to guiding the School to the next level of excellence. The Dean will be expected to work effectively with faculty, students, staff, educators, community leaders, and the legal community state-wide and nationally as partners to advance the University’s research, teaching, and service missions. The Dean will bring an understanding of, and a commitment to, increasing diversity at all levels of the School. The successful candidate will bring experience in and/or the clear potential for representing a law school articulately and compellingly to external constituencies, enhancing the visibility and impact of its work while increasing gifts, funded research, and other mission-aligned revenue. The Dean must also have an in-depth understanding of the current challenges facing law schools as well as those that have transformed the markets for law jobs and for legal services and be willing to work with state, regional, and national stakeholders to address these challenges and advocate for the school and the profession.

Review of nominations and applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled.  The University of Connecticut will be assisted by Jackie Zavitz, Ellen Brown Landers, and Kaley Palanjian of Heidrick & Struggles, Inc. Nominations and applications, including a CV and cover letter, should be directed to UConnLawDean@heidrick.com. For strongest consideration, please submit materials by the preferred date: November 29, 2019.