Author: Alena Allen
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Southwestern Mourns Professor Isabelle R. Gunning, Civil Rights Leader, Legal Scholar, and Teacher
Professor Isabelle R. Gunning passed away in the early hours of March 28, 2026, in Los Angeles. Professor Gunning was a beloved member of the Southwestern Law School community for more than three decades. She joined the faculty in 1992 and served with distinction as the inaugural Mayor Tom Bradley Professor of Law and the…
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Charleston School of Law Names Jonathan Marcantel Dean
Marcantel will become the fourth Dean in Charleston Law history. Marcantel joined the Charleston School of Law faculty in August 2011 and has served as Interim Dean and Professor of Law since November 2024. Prior to joining the faculty, Marcantel served as the Associate Dean of Assessment at the Lincoln Memorial University-Duncan School of Law. Dean Marcantel graduated from…
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FIU Announces Law Dean Finalists
The finalists are: David Brennen (Kentucky), Drew Dawson (Miami), and Sean O’Connor (Brooklyn). Full information about the search can be found here.
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Florida Scrutinized for Hiring AG as a Highly Paid Adjunct
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier is being paid a 100k salary to serve as an adjunct at University of Florida’s law school. News outlets have widely reported on this. See here, here, here, and here.
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University of Tulsa Selects Stacy Leeds as 22nd President
Leeds is currently serving as the dean of Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at ASU. She previously served as the inaugural Vice Chancellor for Economic Development at the University of Arkansas and dean of the law school. The official announcement can be found here.
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Kentucky Appoints New Law Dean
University of Kentucky Provost Robert S. DiPaola announced on Friday he has named Judge Greg Van Tatenhove as the new dean of UK’s J. David Rosenberg College of Law, pending Board of Trustees approval. Official announcement can be found here.
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Entry Level Tenure Track Position at UCONN
The University of Connecticut School of Law invites applications from entry-level and junior-lateral candidates in their first or second year of law teaching for a full-time, tenure-track faculty position commencing in the fall of 2026. Candidates must be interested in teaching Legal Profession, and preference will be given to applicants who also have curricular and…
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Wayne State Names Richard Bierschbach Its 14th President
Bierschbach served as dean of Wayne State Law School for eight years before being named interim president. See full article here. Bierschbach received his bachelor’s degree in history (summa cum laude) from the University of Michigan (1994) and his law degree from the University of Michigan Law School (1997), where he won the Daniel H. Grady Prize…
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West Virginia Extends Search for Dean
After the final finalist wrapped up their campus visit in December, Interim Provost Paul Kreider told the Board of Governors that he anticipated that a selection would come in January 2026 and expressed that “the search has been very successful.” That timeline has now shifted. In his most recent update, Kreider announced the search will…
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Kentucky Names Law Dean Finalists
The finalists for the position are: Michael Higdon, associate dean for academic affairs and law professor at the University of Tennessee; Mary Graw Leary, law professor at The Catholic University of America; Milena Sterio, law professor at Cleveland State University; Gregory Van Tatenhove, U.S. District Judge, Eastern District of Kentucky. Read more here.
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U Conn Seeks Civ Pro Visitor
The University of Connecticut School of Law seeks applicants for a visiting faculty appointment for the 2026-27 academic year in the area of Civil Procedure. The visitor’s course load will be two courses per semester; one or more of those courses may be in the upper-level curriculum. Qualifications for this position include a J.D. degree,…
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Magill named EVP and Dean of Georgetown Law
M. Elizabeth Magill, the former dean of Stanford Law School, provost of the University of Virginia and president of the University of Pennsylvania, has been named the executive vice president and dean of Georgetown Law. Magill will begin her role as the school’s 17th dean on Aug. 1, 2026. She succeeds Interim Executive Vice President…
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LIFT 2026-The Resilience Conference
The University of Pittsburgh School of Law’s Legal Initiative for Fortitude & Transformation (LIFT) and Mitchell Hamline School of Law have announced that they will co-host LIFT 2026: The Resilience Conference. Scheduled for May 21–22, 2026, the event will take place at Mitchell Hamline School of Law in St. Paul, Minnesota. This marks the second biennial Resilience Conference presented by LIFT. It…
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Clinical Teaching Fellowship at UConn
The University of Connecticut School of Law is hiring for the William R. Davis Clinical Teaching Fellowship. The fellow will co-teach and supervise students in UConn’s Asylum Clinic, starting in the summer of 2026. The full position announcement can be found here, William R. Davis Clinical Teaching Fellowship. Several prior Davis Fellows have gone on to tenure-track…
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Women’s Studies Program Ends as Texas A & M Complies with New Board Policy
Texas A&M University announced the elimination of its Women’s and Gender Studies degree program and the cancellation or revision of other courses. University leadership said the decision responds to a newly adopted policy restricting how topics related to race and gender can be taught, and cited limited enrollment in the women’s and gender studies major and minor as part…
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AALS & West Academic Team Up to Tackle AI in Legal Education
The Association of American Law Schools (AALS) and West Academic (a BARBRI company) have officially launched a multiyear strategic partnership dedicated to artificial intelligence. Designed to support deans, faculty, staff, and students as they adapt to new technology, this collaboration pairs West Academic’s comprehensive resources with AALS’s 125 years of institutional leadership. The initiative moves…
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UConn Law is Hiring for the Stuart F. Smith Teaching Fellowship
The University of Connecticut School of Law invites applications for the Stuart F. Smith Teaching Fellowship Program beginning in Fall 2026. This 2-year visiting teaching fellowship program is designed to prepare fellows for entering law school teaching. Fellows will have the opportunity to engage in focused research to support their scholarship and develop their teaching…
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Columbia Board of Trustees Announces Jennifer L. Mnookin as the University’s Next President
Dr. Mnookin is a legal scholar who served as the dean of the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law before arriving at Wisconsin to lead its flagship state university in 2022.The official press release can be found here.
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Nova Announces Law Dean
Olympia Duhart has been appointed Dean of Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad College of Law. Professor Duhart previously served as Interim Dean.
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Arkansas Rescinds Decanal Offer
A few days after announcing Professor Emily Suski as the next dean for the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville School of Law, the university has rescinded that offer, citing “feedback from key external stakeholders.” https://www.law.com/2026/01/15/university-of-arkansas-law-rescinds-dean-offer-citing-stakeholder-feedback/?slreturn=20260115123757 https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2026/jan/14/university-of-arkansas-fayetteville-revokes-offer Update: New York Times, Arkansas Rescinds Choice of Law School Dean Over Transgender Stance
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U. Arkansas-Fayetteville Selects New Dean
Effective July 1, 2026, Emily Suski has been appointed as the dean of the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville School of Law. She will succeed Dean Cynthia Nance.
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2026 Deborah L. Rhode Award
Joanna Grossman, Ellen K. Solender Endowed Chair in Women and the Law, Altshuler Distinguished Teaching Professor, and Professor of Law at Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law, and Kimberly Mutcherson, Professor of Law at Rutgers Law School, have been recognized with the 2026 Deborah L. Rhode Award. This award honors the contributions, service, and…
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2026 Section on Minority Groups Award Winners
Professor Yvette Butler (Indiana University Maurer School of Law)has been awarded the Derrick A. Bell, Jr. Award-an award that honors a junior faculty member who, through activism, mentoring, colleagueship, teaching, or scholarship, has made an extraordinary contribution to legal education, one or more legal systems, or social justice. Professor Catherine Powell (Fordham University School of Law) has been awarded the Clyde Ferguson, Jr. Award-an honor…
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West Virginia Announces Four Law Dean Finalists
Kristen Davis (Stetson), Lars Smith (Louisville), Michael Gentithes (Akron), and Megan Carpenter (New Hampshire).
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2026 Scholarly Paper Competition Winners
Winner: “Law’s Shifting Circles” by Professor Ela Leshem from Fordham Law School Honorable Mentions: “AI and Doctrinal Collapse” by Professor Alicia Solow-Niederman from The George Washington University Law School “Hohfeld in the Boardroom” by Professor Roberto Tallarita from Harvard Law School