Law Schools

Law School Dean Charged With Theft In Scholarship Scandal

Another admissions scandal at the law school.

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A second admissions scandal is rocking Texas Southern’s Thurgood Marshall School of Law this year. Back in February, a law school pay-to-play admissions scandal led to the firing of university officials. Now, a former assistant dean of admissions, Edward Rene, has been charged with theft by a public servant, for allegedly devising a scholarship scheme that netted him ~$74,000. The criminal complaint in Rene’s case appears unrelated to the law school’s earlier scandal.

As reported by ABA Journal, according to the complaint, Rene’s alleged scheme saw him offer scholarships to two students, but they received funds in excess of the scholarship amounts. The students were then allegedly instructed to reimburse the extra money — via checks, cashier’s checks, or money orders… made payable to Rene.

In one instance, Rene told a student the excess funds would go to a foundation that helped minority students, according to the criminal complaint. The excess funds, which the student received from the fall 2017 term to the fall 2019 term, totaled $46,715, and were paid back directly to Rene, the document states.

Another student, who received $7,500 scholarships and additional payments as well, told an FBI investigator that Rene said the money was from his personal family foundation, and the student should directly pay him the additional money. There was no evidence of a family foundation, and the extra money, which added up to $26,942, was from Texas Southern’s scholarship budget, according to the criminal complaint.

Joan R. M. Bullock, dean since July 2019 at the law school, said in a statement that Rene had been terminated, and that the law school is focused on its educational mission:

“Since my arrival in July 2019, we have taken a hard look at our systems and processes, and we are doing what is necessary in order to ensure that we are providing an excellent legal education and learning experience to students who are deserving of our trust, commitment, and care,” she wrote.

headshotKathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, and host of The Jabot podcast. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

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