Duke announced today that Katharine T. Bartlett, dean since 2000, is stepping down as dean, effective June 30, 2007:

Bartlett’s decision to step down comes as the school completes a five-year strategic plan. "The last five years we have pushed hard to add a record number of exceptional new faculty, recruit an increasingly talented student body and strengthen the school’s commitment to community, leadership, and faculty-student collaboration," Bartlett said. "The law school is well positioned now to attract a strong leader who can build on what the faculty has achieved in the last several years."

One of Bartlett’s most important goals for the remainder of her deanship is the completion of the school’s building initiatives, which include renovation of the law library and a new atrium that will provide much needed space for students and public functions. Under Bartlett’s leadership, nearly all of the school’s classrooms have been renovated and a 30,000-square-foot addition has expanded space for faculty as well as for clinic and journal offices.

Here is part of an email sent by Dean Bartlett to the Duke community:

It is with mixed feelings that I tell you that I am stepping down as dean of Duke Law School on June 30, 2007.

Being dean at Duke Law School has been an extraordinary privilege for me and I am proud beyond words to be associated with this place. By the end of next year, however, I will have been dean for 7-1/2 years, and I am ready to start my path back to teaching and research. Working together, we have achieved a great deal in these years, and the Law School is in a good position to attract strong leadership for the School’s next chapter ahead.

I thank you for all of your support and look forward to continuing to work with you over the coming year to maintain and improve the excellence of Duke.

Update:  Brian Leiter has more here.