Berkeley Law Dean To Step Down At The End Of The Year

Why is Dean Edley stepping down, and who will replace him?

BOALT HALL — LETTER TO ALUMNI REGARDING CHRISTOPHER EDLEY’S DEPARTURE AS DEAN

Dear loyal alum,

Over the past twelve months, I’ve been asked on numerous occasions if Dean Edley is going to stay on as dean after his second five-year term expires next year. We now know that, regrettably, the answer is no. Dean Edley informed faculty and staff earlier today that, after careful consideration, he has decided to end his service to us as dean, effective December 31st.

Provost George Breslauer has asked Professor Gillian Lester to serve as acting dean during the search for his replacement, and she has graciously agreed. Professor Lester was acting dean during Dean Edley’s sabbatical from December to June of this year.

The reason for this decision is two-fold. First, as some of you know, the dean had surgery in May for prostate cancer. Recent tests indicate that he needs further treatment, which he is now getting. The dean is going on medical leave through the end of the year, effective Monday, with Professor Lester moving into the acting dean role immediately thereafter.

Second, while he fully expects his doctors to remedy this malady, Dean Edley has decided that, after he returns from medical leave, he wants to turn his attention to other professional pursuits, especially education policy. He will continue at Berkeley Law as a professor.

In the meantime, while on leave, he’ll continue helping with our Campaign for Boalt Hall, and he’ll make himself available to work with Acting Dean Lester on special projects.

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There will be time for an appropriate send-off later. But I want to take a moment to appreciate where the law school stands today because of Dean Edley’s leadership.

When he stepped into this position nine years ago, he laid out four “pillars” of his Campaign for Boalt Hall. The first was to improve the law school’s tired infrastructure to compete with the other top law schools in the country. The second was to expand the faculty ranks to a size befitting a top-ten law school. The third was to expand financial aid so that we can keep a law school education accessible even as tuition rises, and provide our graduates with freedom of career choice. The fourth was to strengthen and grow our research centers to help tackle some of society’s most pressing issues.

Nine years later, we have achieved all the dean’s goals – and more. We’ve expanded our clinical and professional skills programs, increased our international reach with a larger academic-year LL.M. program and a new summer LL.M. program. And we are far along in developing an exciting online education effort that will position Berkeley Law as a leader in this emerging area.

Meanwhile, we’ve almost reached our $125 million Campaign for Boalt Hall fundraising goal to support all of those improvements.

In short, Dean Edley is leaving us a great foundation on which to build, and he’s positioned us to maintain our excellence well into the future.

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We ask that you respect the dean’s privacy in the days, weeks and months ahead. As always, we are here at the Alumni Center to answer any questions or concerns you might have about this news.

I’ll conclude by speaking on the behalf of all of us at Berkeley Law: Thank you for your concern, support and dedication to your law school.

Sincerely,

Robert G. Sproul
Assistant Dean for Development and Alumni Relations

Dean Edley Steps Down to Pursue Professional Goals [Berkeley Law – News Archive]
In Other News [Nuts & Boalts]
Christopher Edley steps down as Boalt Law School dean [The Bottom Line / San Francisco Chronicle]
Berkeley’s Dean Edley [Word on the Streeterville]

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