A Law Dean Switches Schools -- Not At The End of the Year, But Right Now, Weeks Before Classes Start

A law school dean unexpectedly jumps ship, in the middle of the summer...

UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT SCHOOL OF LAW — DEAN JEREMY PAUL — DEPARTURE MEMO

Never have I more fully appreciated John Lennon’s famous quip that life is what happens to you while you are making other plans. Just a few short months ago I looked forward to a final year as dean of the Law School and was already planning how I would spend my research leave in 2013-14. Sometimes, however, opportunities arise that are simply too good to pass up, even if one must sacrifice an orderly path in order to seize the day. For me, this is one of those times.

Accordingly, I write to let you know that I have been appointed the next dean of the Northeastern University School of Law effective in mid-August. Those who share my passion for the inseparability of theory and practice will understand precisely why I am excited to take the helm at the nation’s leading center for experiential legal education. Northeastern’s progress has impressed me during the past 17 years that my wife has served on the journalism faculty there. If I can impart just some of the invaluable lessons I have learned from gifted colleagues here over the last 22 years, I know I can spur more progress still.

Please know, however, that my departure in no way alters my conviction that the University of Connecticut Law School has an exceedingly bright future. We have an outstanding and increasingly diverse faculty, having added 10 new full-time teachers in the last five years. Our international exchange programs, LL.M. and new S.J.D. programs and our D.C. semester ensure that we are a player on many stages even as we remain the clear leader in our home state. Our stellar clinical programs provide meaningful practical training and constitute vital outreach to our Hartford community. And our subject strengths in Energy and Environmental Law, Human Rights, Insurance, Intellectual Property, International Law and Tax are well structured to prepare graduates for the jobs of the future. University leadership is committed to a thriving Law School. What prospective dean would not want to help chart’s UConn’s path to greater national recognition?

So many faculty and staff colleagues, graduates, students and friends have supported me during my time in Hartford. I hope to have the chance to thank many of you in person, and I know you will rally behind the law school’s new leadership just as you have championed me. I wish the Law School community the greatest success. Although I will no longer be in your midst, you will forever be in my heart.

Jeremy Paul

Earlier: Is This Dean the First 2012 Casualty of the U.S. News Law School Rankings?
Early Reactions to the U.S. News Rankings: Deans and the Excuses They Make

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