Invitation to Apply for the Position of. Dean, Washington College of Law. American University Washington, D.C.

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1 Invitation to Apply for the Position of American University Washington, D.C. Search Summary American University (AU) seeks a strategic, entrepreneurial, and energetic leader to serve as Dean of the Washington College of Law (WCL), commencing in the summer of This is an exceptional opportunity to lead a large, vibrant, creative, and forward-looking law school in the nation s capital to a preeminent global position by enhancing WCL s distinctive brand anchored in the quality of its academic programs, the scholarly achievements of its faculty, the diversity of its student body, and its impact on the challenges facing the legal profession and society today. In January 2016, WCL will relocate to a new, state-of-the-art facility located on an 8.5-acre campus adjacent to the Metro and near centers of government, business, embassies, and culture in Washington, D.C. The new law school facility will provide an optimal learning environment for over 1,450 students. WCL is one of seven colleges and schools at AU, a private doctoral university chartered by Congress and established in Today, AU employs some 850 fulltime faculty members, enrolls approximately 12,100 students from every U.S. state and 146 countries, and offers a rich array of undergraduate and graduate programs. WCL is an institution with a unique heritage. It was founded in 1896 by two pioneering women at a time when women were generally excluded from practicing law. The founders created a tradition of providing opportunities for those historically outside the mainstream of the legal profession. That commitment to inclusion and outreach continues. Of the 423 current first-year students, 46.6% are minorities, 62% are women, and 42% speak a foreign language. WCL is proud of its distinction as the highest overall ranked law school in the U.S. with Hispanics as its largest minority group. For WCL, diversity and excellence are intimately intertwined. Accredited by the ABA, WCL provides a superb education while achieving national and international recognition for its programs with a faculty that is recognized as among the most productive in the country. Faculty occupy important leadership positions in legal academia and domestic and international organizations, reflecting their engagement in a broad range of educational, legal, and policy issues. Recent WCL program rankings from U.S. News and World Report (USNWR) include: #2 in Clinical Training; #6 in International Law; #6 in Trial Advocacy; #15 in Intellectual Property; and #16 in Best Part-Time JD Programs. The National Law Journal s Best of the Legal Times survey ranks WCL as #2 for JD Programs in 1

2 Page 2 of 9 Washington, D.C.; #2 in Clinical Programs; #2 in Joint JD-MBA Programs; and #3 in LLM Programs for WCL s Program in Law and Government. Law Street Media ranks WCL s Criminal Law Program as #8 in the nation. As the chief executive of WCL, the Dean reports to AU s Provost and is responsible for all program and unit activities within the school. S/he provides strategic, intellectual and creative leadership to faculty, students, and staff; leads planning, administrative, personnel, fundraising, and program-development efforts to build and sustain excellence in operations; and is the principal representative for the school. The Dean works cooperatively and closely with faculty, administrative staff, other deans, and AU leaders to advance the university and the law school. The Dean will bring a deep respect for both the practice and scholarly aspects of legal education. Additionally, the Dean is a visible force on the world stage, working with students, faculty, staff, alumni, and local and global leaders to enhance and build external relations and revenue. AU has retained Isaacson, Miller to assist in the search. All applications, inquiries, and nominations, which will remain confidential, should be directed to the search firm as indicated at the end of this document. American University AU is a vibrant, college-centered research university that provides deep learning experiences for students through engagement by a distinguished research faculty. Drawing on the studentcentered nature of the liberal arts college and the intensity of the research university, AU exemplifies the very best of both models of American higher education. Located in the nation's capital, AU students are afforded unique opportunities for experiential learning and internships at some of the world's pinnacle institutions. AU focuses on academic excellence for engaged students within the framework of its core values: interdisciplinary inquiry, multi-cultural and global understanding, student-engaged research, experiential learning, and social and ethical responsibility. AU delivers nearly 70 undergraduate, over 70 master s, and 11 doctoral programs, as well as the JD, across seven colleges and schools: College of Arts and Sciences Kogod School of Business School of Communication School of International Service School of Professional and Extended Studies School of Public Affairs Washington College of Law AU enrolls approximately 7,000 undergraduate, 3,500 graduate, and 1,450 law students. Its highly diverse student body comes from nearly 150 countries. A student-focused university, AU is dedicated to the teacher-scholar model, with a university-wide student faculty ratio of 12:1. Healthy student satisfaction is reflected in its 88.7% freshman retention rate, and 81.6% of AU

3 Page 3 of 9 undergraduates earn their degrees in six years or less. A global university based in the U.S. capital, AU offers more than 100 study-abroad programs, regularly hosts world leaders on campus, and explores global issues through its curriculum and research activities. AU is led by President Cornelius M. Kerwin, who became the institution s 14th president in September President Kerwin is building on his long and distinguished academic career at AU to guide it to new levels of excellence through its strategic plan, Leadership for a Changing World: American University in the Next Decade ( In July 2008, Scott A. Bass was appointed Provost, joining AU from the University of Maryland at Baltimore County, where he was vice president for research, dean of the graduate school, and a distinguished professor of sociology and public policy. He is working closely with the President and the broad campus community to implement the key priorities of the strategic plan. Under the guidance of its senior leadership, AU is aggressively pursuing a strategy to secure a prominent position among the top U.S. national universities. Key initiatives have been undertaken and progress realized in areas including greater expectations for and support of faculty scholarship, diversity of the undergraduate student body, the size and composition of the faculty, the culture of assessment, and reformed and more transparent governance processes. These initiatives have changed AU in important ways. The appeal of AU s location, unique character, and pedagogical approach has produced very strong enrollments. A history of prudent financial stewardship and sensible practices has contributed to exceptional fiscal health. This strong financial position is enabling the institution to make strategic investments across the university. The Washington College of Law Founded over a century ago, WCL was the first law school in the world established by women to provide such a legal education for women as will enable them to practice the legal profession. Within 15 years of its establishment, WCL enrolled a co-educational student body of 128, and in 1949 WCL merged with AU. Today, WCL is one of the largest law schools (8 th out of 202 law schools) in the United States with 1,288 JD students and 174 LLM and SJD students. Over 260 JD students pursue their degrees in a well-respected, highly ranked part-time program. Beyond being a large and financially strong law school with a favorable student-to-faculty ratio of 10:1, WCL is outstanding in several respects. First, in terms of diversity, WCL enjoys an enviable position with 46.6% (197 out of 423) of the current first-year class self-identifying as from minority populations and with women comprising 62% of the class. Another solid cornerstone claimed by WCL is its leadership in clinical and other experiential programs that provide a broad array of opportunities for students to learn through supervised practice. Ranked #2 by both USNWR and The National Law Journal for its clinical training, WCL offers 11 in-house, live-client clinics, led by full-time faculty members. WCL s Clinical

4 Page 4 of 9 Program has established numerous pioneering clinics that complement doctrinal offerings, including the Women and the Law Clinic, International Human Rights Law Clinic, and Intellectual Property Law Clinic. The program has continued to evolve in recent years with the addition of the Disability Rights Law Clinic and the Immigrant Justice Clinic, and provides legal services to hundreds of clients across a range of issue areas. A related experiential program, WCL s Trial Advocacy Program, is ranked #6 by USNWR. International Law is another cornerstone of the law school, regularly securing top rankings, e.g., #6 from USNWR. WCL offers a wide variety of international law courses and related programs, such as the Human Rights Academy, the Human Rights Center, the War Crimes Research Office, the Center for Commercial Arbitration, the Program on International Organizations, Law and Diplomacy, and the Program on Trade, Investment and Development. WCL s internships, externships, and summer programs place students in some of the most significant global institutions, where they are able to gain incomparable experiences. Seventy percent of recent incoming JD students cite international law as a significant reason for coming to WCL. In addition, last year 150 students enrolled in WCL s LLM Program in International Legal Studies. They studied alongside 13 Humphrey Fellows, 1 20 exchange students, and 25 international visiting scholars from more than 60 countries. Intellectual Property (IP) is another curricular strength of WCL, as reflected in consistent top-20 rankings from USNWR. The Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property and the IP Clinic, which was one of the first of its kind in the nation, both offer students an immense wealth of opportunities to explore this field and connect with an engaged alumni network. This fall WCL launched a new LLM program in IP. WCL embraces a student-centered learning enterprise where world-class legal scholars engaged in expanding knowledge through research and writing are also strongly committed to teaching and service. Blending theory, doctrine, and practice in the classrooms and clinics, the faculty is the core of the institution. There are currently 64 tenured and tenure-track faculty and 33 fulltime non-tenure-track faculty, many of whom have been with WCL for a long time. The faculty is diverse and overall is 50% female. WCL students are diverse, hard-working, and service-oriented. WCL graduates can be found in myriad practice settings both in the U.S. and abroad. A significant number pursue careers in the public interest, including positions in government, international organizations, nonprofit entities, and associations. WCL supports student achievement in a variety of ways, including engaging first-year students in their career planning and development through 11 Faculty Practice Groups that help direct students toward useful career networks and through supervised externship programs. As part of a comprehensive university, WCL and AU offer students several dualdegree programs, including JD/MBA, JD/MS, JD/MPP, and five international dual-degree programs. WCL students have a vibrant campus life, organizing conferences and participating in over 70 student-led organizations. They also edit and publish in WCL s 10 briefs and 5 journals, 1 WCL is one of two law schools in the United States that host the prestigious Hubert Humphrey Fellowship Program in Law and Human Rights. The Humphrey Program is sponsored by the United States Department of State as part of the Fulbright Program, and is administered by the Institute of International Education (IIE).

5 Page 5 of 9 including the American University Law Review, the American University Business Law Review, the American University International Law Review, the Administrative Law Review, and the Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law. Students also compete in 18 domestic and international moot court and 11 mock trial competitions per year. WCL s dedicated staff of over 140 are an essential part of the school, providing their wisdom, energy, and talent to ensure the effective operation of this complex enterprise. In addition, staff members take a personal interest in student success while at WCL and in their future careers, and many are engaged in securing grants and gifts for the school and meeting the expectations of WCL s alumni and benefactors. Staff input, guidance, and perspectives on every aspect of WCL s operations and programs are essential and valued. WCL has a large alumni base with close to 20,000 members. The law school has expanded engagement with alumni, especially through the creation of the Dean s Advisory Council, the Dean s Diversity Council, and the Public Interest Alumni Advisory Council. WCL is literally on the move. In January 2016, WCL will launch its new, state-of-the-art, 8.5- acre campus, creating new opportunities and excitement for enriching the lives of students, faculty, and staff, enhancing WCL s innovative programs, and connecting the faculty and students to the intellectual life of Washington, D.C. The new campus is located one block from the AU-Tenleytown Metrorail Station in Northwest D.C. and embraces 37,400 square feet of teaching space with over 8,000 square feet of space for the various clinical programs. The move will take place over the course of the final 6 to 8 weeks of calendar year 2015 and the new, LEED-certified facility will open in January The Honorable Ruth Bader Ginsburg,

6 Page 6 of 9 Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, will be the featured speaker at the ribbon-cutting ceremony on February 12, Leadership Opportunities WCL has been led for the past 21 years by Dean Claudio Grossman. Dean Grossman is a wellrecognized figure in international law and for the past three years has been named one of the 25 Most Influential People in Legal Education. His contributions have been enormous, and the next WCL dean will build on the solid foundation that Dean Grossman, WCL staff, the faculty, the alumni, and the University administration have developed. Legal education has been under stress for the past 8 years with declining demand for JD graduates and a resulting reduction in enrollments and tuition revenue. In addition, the rising cost of a JD degree has largely been borne by increasing student debt. Like other peer institutions, WCL has responded by cutting expenses where possible and by expanding revenues from new program offerings and fund-raising, particularly for scholarships. Even in the face of this challenging environment, however, WCL has maintained the exceptional quality of its programs and has even expanded them where appropriate. WCL has stayed true to its core values: fostering a culture of creativity and innovation; a student-centered approach; learning through experience and practice; global vision and engagement; commitment to human dignity and justice for all; embracing the value of diversity; and a broad and inclusive concept of scholarship, pedagogy, research, and service. Four major challenges and countervailing opportunities will present themselves to the next dean of WCL. Nurturing an Ongoing Culture of Strategic Planning and Comparative Benchmarking Within weeks, WCL will move to a new facility, and a few months thereafter, WCL will engage a new dean as its leader. The legal education eco-system in which WCL is navigating continues to adapt to powerful pedagogical, economic, and global developments. To be successful, the next WCL dean will understand the way these changes will affect the law school and its stakeholders and will then collaborate with the faculty, staff, students, alumni, and University officers to sharpen the strategic direction for WCL through an ongoing planning process. For WCL to be successful, not only does it need to set a high bar for itself, but its reputation among other law schools needs to be among the nation s finest, with sensitivity to the USNWR rankings. This requires building a process that enhances the guiding vision for the institution that considers the current environment and leverages WCL s strengths and assets, while staying grounded in the school s enduring values. These transitions present an unparalleled opportunity for the next dean to establish an exciting era for WCL, where existing programs and practices can be benchmarked for best practice and assessed for their effectiveness and new or revised programs and practices considered. Shaping the future direction of WCL in light of these transitions will require collaboration, creative leadership, vision, and confidence. The transitions provide a window of opportunity for WCL to further strengthen itself among the domestic competition, keeping and enhancing the best of its past while exploring new possibilities.

7 Page 7 of 9 Expanding Financial and Human Resources to Advance WCL s Mission There is a wealth of human and financial resources for the next WCL dean to develop and direct in this mission-driven enterprise. Fundraising is particularly important and will involve engaging individual donors, many of whom will be alumni who want to be part of the new campus and its programs, as well as other donors, including foundations, other grant-makers, and community partners that see collaborating with WCL as mutually beneficial. Even greater than the financial resources that are ready to be harvested are the human resources that are prepared to contribute in greater measure to the mission of the school. A new building and a new leadership team can be expected to inspire a higher level of engagement; the new dean s opportunity and challenge will be to capture that energy and enthusiasm and put these to work for the school. Enhancing the Infrastructure of a Multi-faceted Enterprise within a Larger University System WCL is a large enterprise with many parts, programs, participants, and points of view. The culture is entrepreneurial and supportive of innovation and that, in large part, has strengthened WCL and made the school an exciting place to be a scholar, staff, and student. The next dean will be called upon to find ways to better structure the enterprise in the new setting so that knowledge about the school s many, varied pieces is shared and synthesized, responsibility is delegated and owned, and a more efficient organization can be built that is accountable and based on best administrative practices identified from around the country without dampening the creativity and excitement that is part of WCL s DNA. Much of this organizational work will be internal within WCL, but the dean will also have to establish new, mutually beneficial, reciprocal relationships within the larger University, both among her/his peer deans and the Provost and other central administrators. Over the past few years, the larger university has greatly enhanced its administrative functions, standards, procedures, research prowess, and faculty talent. The next dean will seize the opportunity to have WCL take full advantage of the changed University referred to by the recent Middle States Accreditation review as a transformed university and will strengthen this relationship with the goal of enhancing WCL both academically and administratively. Intensifying Essential Career Opportunities for WCL Graduates The need for finding balance in legal education between a strong intellectual foundation and the support associated with the preparation for successful career pathways is inherent in law schools. The dean, in collaboration with the faculty and the professional staff, will ensure that all WCL students are well prepared for employment with enhanced legal writing skills and support from the school for assistance in identifying promising career options. Determining how early and in what settings internships, externships, practicums, and expanded opportunities in the clinical practice programs should be offered and how such opportunities can be extended to as many students as possible will be important questions for the next dean to resolve. Legal practitioners regularly emphasize the importance of legal writing and oral communication skills. Working with other lawyers and clients, managing the workload, and mastering business aspects of legal work are often cited as critical professional skills by legal graduates. Understanding how WCL

8 Page 8 of 9 can expand and intensify the training for these professional skills linked to employment and how WCL can further assist its graduates with gainful employment are issues that await the next dean. The dean will guide faculty and staff with the vision and associated resources to ensure that WCL graduates are among the best prepared in the country and are provided the necessary experiential building blocks that lead to success in their careers of choice. Desired Experience and Qualifications Prospective candidates should possess scholarship, leadership, and management ability necessary to perform the roles of the chief executive officer and chief academic officer at WCL. In addition, strong candidates will possess a combination of professional experience and leadership traits necessary to: Serve as the intellectual leader of the faculty through a demonstrated commitment to scholarship, an ability to inspire junior and senior faculty alike in their scholarly pursuits, and a vision for further development of the intellectual environment at WCL; Promote WCL s teaching mission of educating outstanding lawyers through continued excellence in the academic program, including doctrinal, experiential, and hybrid courses; Support, guide, and further develop WCL s commitment to the integration of theory and practice; Promote successful change in response to evolving external environments and emerging challenges, including providing leadership in developing a common vision for WCL that reflects both the future of legal education and the established strengths of the institution; Interact persuasively with the philanthropic community, and solicit and steward private support from alumni, members of the Board of Trustees, friends, foundations, law firms, government institutions, and corporations; Develop positive, mutually supportive relationships with WCL graduates; Work effectively and collaboratively with senior administrators and other staff to ensure the smooth functioning of administrative units and programs within WCL; Promote WCL s dedication to and long-standing record of attracting a diverse community, as demonstrated by a record of advancing diversity within a student body, faculty, and administrative team, or within a corporation or law firm environment; Provide a global vision for WCL by maintaining the law school s global presence and its engagement with collaborators and stakeholders worldwide; Create a strong sense of community and collaboration among faculty, staff, students, alumni, the University s other schools, the local bar, and the courts; Communicate to a wide range of constituencies; Demonstrate good judgment in attracting, retaining, and developing outstanding faculty, administrators, and staff; Manage a law school budget within a responsibility-centered management structure.

9 Page 9 of 9 The successful candidate will also have: A JD, or other terminal degree in law, with accomplishments meriting tenure at the rank of professor; A leadership style characterized by flexibility, inclusiveness, integrity, and openness; A commitment to public service; A commitment to enhance WCL s overall reputation; An appetite for innovation; The inclination and capability to contribute to AU s senior academic leadership, including the ability to collaborate with the Provost and deans to enrich the overall academic structure and the national and international reputation of AU as a research and educational powerhouse; Strong listening skills and the ability to learn from others; Decisiveness and ability to multi-task as well as a willingness to delegate appropriately. Application Procedure Applications, which should include a resume or curriculum vitae and cover letter, should be sent to the following electronic mailbox: Electronic submission of materials is strongly preferred. Inquiries and nominations may also be sent to the web address cited above or directed to: Vivian Brocard, Tim McFeeley, or Karla Saunders Isaacson, Miller th Street, NW, Suite 700 Washington, D.C Apply via the website: Telephone: All inquiries and expressions of interest will be held in strict confidence. The search will continue until an appointment is made. American University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action educator and employer committed to a diverse student body, faculty and staff. Minority and women candidates are encouraged to apply. For more information about the Washington College of Law please visit: