DEAN -- WIDENER LAW DELAWARE
Widener University invites nominations and applications for the position of Dean of Widener Law Delaware, located in Wilmington, Delaware. The Dean is the chief administrative officer of the School, reporting directly to the Provost. The Dean serves with the deans of seven other schools and the College of Arts and Sciences on the Deans’ Council, the Provost’s Council, and the President’s Senior Leadership Team, and is the official liaison between the School’s faculty and the Provost.
We believe that becoming the dean of our new Widener Law Delaware is a singular opportunity. The dean will shape and build a new vision for the law school as it enters its fifth decade with the full support of a nationally renowned bench and bar, collegial faculty and staff, dedicated student body, and 11,500 accomplished alumni. Widener Law Delaware also enjoys a beautiful campus nestled in the stunning and historic Brandywine Valley.
At Widener Law Delaware, we place students, applied learning, and community service first by deploying innovations in learning and teaching, by shaping policy with leading publications and public service, and by stressing legal practice in our distinctive experiential and interdisciplinary signature programs. We emphasize the tools students need to do what lawyers do best: help people and provide hope for those who face real-world legal challenges warranting practical solutions. We also aspire to lead in public service, professional training, and continuing legal education. We teach with purpose to make a real difference for our students, our alumni, and our extended legal community.
This profile details the University, the School of Law as presently constituted, and Widener Law Delaware going forward, as well as qualifications and how to apply. We invite you to join our community and help lead the next phase of Widener Law Delaware.
THE UNIVERSITY
Widener University, an independent, metropolitan, Carnegie-classified doctoral institution, connects curricula to social issues through civic engagement. Dynamic teaching, active scholarship, personal attention, and experiential learning are key components of the Widener Experience. The university’s robust diversity agenda embodies the values of access, inclusion, academic excellence, innovation, and leadership.
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Widener’s main campus is situated in the Philadelphia/Wilmington metropolitan corridor in Chester, Pennsylvania with additional campuses in Exton and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and Wilmington, Delaware. In addition to programs of its Schools of Law in Wilmington and Harrisburg, the university offers programs through: the College of Arts Sciences; the School of Business Administration; the School of Education, Innovation, and Continuing Studies; the School of Engineering; the School of Hospitality Management; the School of Human Service Professions; and the School of Nursing.Widener University is distinctive in having evolved from a preparatory school to a military institution and ultimately to a university. Widener’s vision is inspired by a legacy of leadership, public service, and career preparation started by John Bullock, who established the Bullock School for Boys in Delaware in 1821 to prepare young men for “entry to college.”
Over the next 47 years, the institution became a military academy and eventually moved to its present location in Chester, Pennsylvania, in 1868. In 1892, the Academy applied for and received collegiate status, becoming the Pennsylvania Military College (PMC), modeled after the U.S. Army Military Academy at West Point.
In 1972, the PMC Corps of Cadets was disbanded, and PMC College became Widener College, named after the prominent Widener family of Philadelphia. In 1979, to reflect its addition of graduate and professional programs, including a school of law in Wilmington, Delaware, Widener College became Widener University.
Today, after nearly 200 years of change and evolution, the University’s core values stand as respectful legacy to its past in preparing men and women to become citizens of character who can become effective leaders in a global society. In the past 10 years, Widener has emerged as one of the nation’s leading metropolitan universities. Strong leadership, shared vision, and an
empowered university community have combined to position Widener as a university on the move, and one to watch nationally as well as regionally. This is why Widener recently received an invitation to join the prestigious New American Colleges and Universities, a national
consortium of 22 selective, independent colleges and universities dedicated to the purposeful integration of liberal arts, professional studies, and civic responsibility.
New Strategic Plan. The university completed a 10-year strategic plan last year under the leadership of Widener’s ninth president, James T. Harris, III now in the 13th year of his
presidency. Unit-specific goals and objectives are now to be developed within the framework of the university’s overall strategic plan, Vision 2021. Therefore, the new Dean of Widener Law Delaware has the opportunity to lead the shaping of the law school’s strategic plan, to
complement the overall plan for the university.
Vision. As a preeminent metropolitan university, Widener aspires to be a dynamic, inclusive academic community, transforming students into scholars, leaders, and globally engaged citizens. Mission. The Widener University mission is achieved by creating a learning environment where curricula are connected to societal issues through civic engagement. The university:
Leads by providing a unique combination of liberal arts and professional education in a challenging, scholarly, and culturally diverse academic community;
Engages students through dynamic teaching, active scholarship, personal attention, and experiential learning;
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Inspires students to be citizens of character who demonstrate professional and civicleadership; and
Contributes to the vitality and well-being of the communities served. THE SCHOOL OF LAW
The Widener University School of Law is fully accredited by the ABA and is a member of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS). It was founded in 1971, in Wilmington, as Delaware School of Law, becoming a part of Widener in 1976.
Widener University established a branch campus of the School of Law in Harrisburg in 1989. The University’s Board of Trustees has approved a plan to have the branch campus of the School of Law in Harrisburg become separately administered and accredited. This is being accomplished to capitalize on the special strengths of each law school, giving each the opportunity to develop further distinctive programs to serve its students and unique communities. A request to the American Bar Association for acquiescence to a major organizational change that would result in the formal separation of the two schools is under review, a process that is expected to be
completed by June 2015.
WIDENER LAW DELAWARE
Now in its fifth decade, Widener Law Delaware is an ABA-accredited institution that offers a unique opportunity for the right candidate. It is the first and remains the only law school in the nation’s First State of Delaware, which is known for its collegial and highly respected legal community, a significant portion of which are alumni. The school features civic-minded students and staff, a top-notch faculty, and some of the best teachers and most productive legal scholars in the nation.
Widener Law Delaware is a vibrant community that boasts a diverse student body in both full and part-time programs, a distinguished faculty, and a dedicated staff. The 11,500 alumni of Widener Law Delaware practice in a range of fields all over the country and globally. Among them are current and past presidents of the Delaware, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey state bar associations, chancellors of the Philadelphia Bar Association, and 166 sitting judges, including a Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court.
The large corporate community in Delaware and the varieties of legal practice opportunities in neighboring Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Maryland offer students an unusually rich array of opportunities for experiential learning through internships and externships, a public interest law center, four well-established in-house representational clinics, and additional opportunities to see law in action.
Widener Law Delaware offers a Juris Doctor, Master and Doctor of Law, and advanced non-law degrees and programs that have been and remain at the forefront of experiential learning. We also take pride in the variety of ways that we aim to advance the teaching and practice of law, and in our community, detailed next.
Degrees
J.D. Program. Widener Law Delaware’s J.D. program emphasizes experiential learning, top-quality teaching, and impactful scholarship and public service. It boasts signature programs in
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corporate, environmental, family health, and public interest law, as well as those in trial advocacy and technology in the courtroom. The J.D. program features: A robust and well-established clinical program, with opportunities for working on real cases in civil and criminal courts in Delaware and Pennsylvania, helping veterans across the nation, and protecting the natural environment;
A new pedagogy model that draws on best practices for legal education and is applicable across the curriculum, where students continually apply what they learn to real world legal problems, engage in professional skills training, and are provided ongoing assessment with tailored feedback on the progress of their learning;
A variety of legal journals, including the prestigious Delaware Journal of Corporate Law;
Leading honor societies, organizations, and affinity groups, offering enhanced skills training, professional development and networking opportunities.
Dual Degrees. Widener Law Delaware offers dual degrees in conjunction with Widener’s School of Business Administration (J.D./M.B.A.), Widener’s School of Human Service Professions (J.D./Psy.D.), the University of Delaware (J.D./Master of Marine Policy), and Thomas Jefferson University (J.D./Master of Public Health). Widener Delaware also offers the LL.M in Corporate Law, General Master of Laws, and Health Law, as well as the Doctor of Juridical Science (S.J.D.) in health law and in corporate and business law.
Non-Law Degree Programs. Widener Law Delaware has experienced major growth in its degree programs for non-lawyers: a Master of Jurisprudence (M.J.) in Corporate Law, an M.J. in Health Law, and a Doctor of Laws (D.L.). The masters programs offer specific tracks that allow students to earn the M.J. in Health Law with a certificate in either Regulatory Analysis & Compliance or Legal Nurse Consulting & Hospital Regulatory Compliance, or the M.J. in Corporate Law with a certificate in Regulatory Analysis & Compliance. There are also online Master of Jurisprudence programs in Health Law and Corporate Law.
Legal Education Institute. The Legal Education Institute offers degrees and certificates in paralegal studies and legal nurse consultation, and, in cooperation with Widener’s School of Education, Innovation, and Continuing Studies, bachelor and associate degrees in paralegal studies.
Points of Pride
Student Body, Journals, Leadership, and Services. The 550-strong student body that populates Widener Law Delaware’s JD, MJ and LLM programs is diverse and distinct, hails from around the globe, and reflects a sweeping array of professional disciplines. Our typical student is smart, hard-working, curious, committed to public service and social justice, and interested in practicing law as a career. Many are first or second generation law students who are among the first in their families to pursue a graduate degree. Women comprise 44 percent of our incoming class; 29 percent of our student body self-identify as minority.
Widener Law Delaware has three distinctive student-run journals, including the Delaware Journal of Corporate Law, which ranks first among student-edited journals that specialize in “corporations and associations” and in “commercial law” based on citations in federal and state court opinions over the last eight years, and seventh out of 372 specialized student-edited law reviews overall.
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Our students regularly lead by example. Three prior presidents of the ABA Law Student Division were from Widener Law Delaware. Students have formed more than two dozen studentorganizations to serve our legal and local communities. Our students regularly volunteer their time to serve local communities in need. Indeed, last year our students volunteered nearly 10,000 hours assisting with hurricane relief, peer-to-peer reconciliation in inner-city public schools, and Habitat for Humanity, as well as our award-winning Wills-For-Heroes project.
Our student services are designed to support our students and engage them in the life of the Law School. Our efforts in this regard are directed at promoting a vibrant, inclusive, student-centered learning community that supports the needs of all students. We focus on providing our students with extensive counseling to ensure that their choices are well informed and that they are fully supported as they move through their legal education and beyond.
Faculty Breadth and Depth. Widener Law Delaware is led by a highly qualified group of 40 full-time faculty members, including 27 with tenure, 3 on tenure track, 2 visitors, and 8 not on tenure track. The 27 members of the faculty with tenure consist of 20 full professors (including 3 currently recognized as “distinguished”), and 7 associate professors. Widener Law Delaware also has 11 professors emeritus, and regularly hosts dozens of distinguished adjunct professors, as well as visiting jurists and scholars.
The faculty includes former prosecutors, public defenders, and attorneys from all types of
practice, including large and small law firms, major corporations, government agencies, and public interest organizations. Faculty maintain deep ties to the bench and the bar by serving as advisors to federal and state court systems, state legislatures, the U.S. Congress, and international organizations.
The faculty is nationally and internationally known for research and writing in a variety of fields, and is ranked in the upper echelons of U.S. law schools in terms of the impact of its published scholarship.
Widener Law Delaware’s adjunct faculty has included a U.S. Senator and 14 judges from courts in Delaware, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, including the Delaware Supreme Court and Court of Chancery and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
Administrative and Support Staff. Widener Law Delaware benefits from a highly accomplished, experienced, and professional administrative and support staff, dedicated to providing services to our students with integrity and care. The Assistant Dean for Career Development is a past President of the National Association of Law Placement, and the Assistant Dean for Admissions is one of 18 admissions officers nationwide recently chosen by the Law School Admission Council to serve on a new advisory board for improving information services.
Opportunities for Experiential Learning. Widener Law Delaware offers a wide variety of opportunities for experiential learning, including:
The Criminal Defense Law Clinic represents clients charged with criminal offenses from preliminary hearing through trial, as well as providing post-conviction
representation to defendants on death row, including on cases before the U.S. Supreme Court;
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The Delaware Civil Law Clinic provides free legal services to impoverished clients. Theclinic offers an excellent opportunity to work real cases with actual clients and develop practical legal skills such as interviewing, counseling, negotiating, and trial advocacy; The Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic is the 4th longest-standing
environmental law clinical program in the world. Since 1989, it has provided more than a quarter of a million hours of legal representation pro bono to protect the planet and advance sustainability;
The Veterans Law Clinic was one of the nation’s first law school clinical programs assisting disabled veterans with compensation cases. It has been honored with the 2014 Delaware Governor’s Outstanding Volunteer Award for Community Service.
The Clinical and Judicial Externship Program allows students to work as externs at public interest agencies and for esteemed jurists, earning academic credit and cultivating professional relationships;
Specialized Programs. Widener Law Delaware’s specialized programs help to shape policy, train students, sponsor CLE programs, serve the community, and engage in cutting edge scholarship in various fields, including:
The Institute of Delaware Corporate and Business Law bring academics, jurists, and noted practitioners to the Law School and to Wilmington for influential presentations on pressing issues of corporate and business law. The institute regularly sponsors path-breaking symposia, including recent programs on the intersection of corporate and bankruptcy law. It also sponsors the Ruby R. Vale Interschool Corporate Moot Court Competition, which draws students from dozens of law schools around the country and culminates with oral arguments before sitting members of the Delaware Supreme Court and the Delaware Court of Chancery;
The Environmental Law Program was among the first in the world to focus on the field of environmental law, beginning in 1985. Its six faculty members are leaders in
analyzing, developing and implementing environmental law and policy. The program regularly hosts symposia and colloquia, including most recently on protecting Delaware’s coastal zone, and on global environmental constitutionalism. The National Jurist recently recognized the law school special distinction as one of the nation’s ‘greenest’ law
schools;
The Family and Health Law and Policy Institute demonstrates how to use law to improve family health outcomes. It provides abundant experiential learning opportunities, engages and serves the greater community by promoting knowledge, providing
specialized legal training, and influencing law and policy development in support the health of families of all kinds. It produces innovative scholarship, builds strong collaborative relationships with leaders and policymakers in family and health law, promotes rigorous discussion by virtue of conferences, workshops and other formats, and provides a curriculum that teaches and trains students to serve families, broadly
construed; and,
The Taishoff Advocacy, Technology, and Public Service Institute offers students an opportunity to develop their knowledge of and proficiency in the fundamental skills essential to becoming a competent, professionally responsible advocate. It includes the Intensive Trial Advocacy Program, which is an intensive course designed to sharpen trial advocacy skills and includes highly experienced trial attorneys, judges, and law professors who offer insight into trial practice.
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Alumni. Widener Law Delaware has 11,500 alumni serving communities throughout the nation, and in dozens of countries around the globe. Our alumni influence through the written word and public advocacy the evolution of the law and its impact upon the community, nation and world at large.Community Service. Widener Law Delaware’s emphasis on community service is exemplified by the following:
The Delaware Supreme Court convenes annually at Widener Law Delaware for oral arguments, which are open to students and the entire law school community;
We host the Delaware Tax Institute, which has a long and distinguished history of collaboration and educational exchange between attorneys, accountants and financial services professionals;
We participate in a partnership with the National Judicial College, for which Widener Law Delaware serves as an East Coast center for judicial education programs;
Our Jurist Academy encourages college juniors and seniors from groups historically underrepresented in law schools to consider careers in law; and,
We offer countless opportunities for civic-minded service in disadvantaged
communities, such as school-based peer-to-peer reconciliation programs in Wilmington and Chester, and legal assistance for those suffering from the aftermath of natural disasters.
The Community
Wilmington is part of the Mid-Atlantic metropolitan corridor with its uncommonly rich economic and cultural opportunities and quality of life. Yet, the cost of living in the Wilmington area is relatively low.
Promoting a distinctive image for a law school located on a leafy 40-acre campus in the nation’s corporate capital, Widener Law Delaware is located in the midst of the beautiful Brandywine Valley, near the First State National Monument, and in the middle of the eastern metropolitan corridor: 30 minutes from Philadelphia, equidistant to New York City and Washington, D.C, and within easy driving distance to state capitals for Delaware (Dover), Maryland (Annapolis), New Jersey (Trenton) and Pennsylvania (Harrisburg).
Delaware is home to a vibrant legal community known within the legal profession for its civility and collegiality. Widener Law Delaware’s distinction as the state's only law school provides a unique set of opportunities to build on an already established network to enhance student learning and employment options. The large corporate community as well as the nearby government hub offers an unusually rich array of opportunities for experiential learning such as clinics, internships and externships.
LEADERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES FOR THE DEAN
Opportunities
The impending separate accreditation of the branch campus in Harrisburg combined with the evolving nature of legal education provides unique opportunities and challenges for a dynamic, bold, and visionary new dean. Some special opportunities include:
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Promoting a distinctive image for a law school located in the nation’s corporate capital; Enhancing the school’s national profile by leveraging its presence and relationshipwith the Delaware judiciary and the broader legal community;
Reinforcing connections with the legal community in and around Delaware as well as neighboring states in the Mid-Atlantic region to promote experiential learning of
students;
Building non-traditional legal programs including online programming; Energizing the alumni base to help the school achieve its potential; and,
Shaping the strategic plan for the school within the framework of Vision 2021, the new strategic plan for Widener University.
Challenges
Every challenge is also an opportunity for the enthusiastic leader wanting to show that he/she can make a positive difference. Challenges the new dean will face include the impact of the national downturn in law school applications and enrollment, particularly at a tuition-dependent
institution, the high cost of providing quality legal education and the debt burden facing graduates. Regional competitors and the legal education environment make effective recruiting paramount and the school bar-pass rate needs strengthening and stabilizing. While the separation of the school from its Harrisburg branch campus will involve challenges with budgets and staffing, this is also a unique and exciting opportunity to build a brand and identity unique to Widener Law Delaware, all within an established physical and human resources infrastructure.
QUALIFICATIONS
To be considered for this position candidates must have a law degree/earned terminal degree. Also required is high-level management experience in an academic or business setting. Candidates must have credentials equivalent to those expected for a tenured appointment in the School of Law, ideally at the rank of full professor.
Preferred candidates will have had substantial administrative experience including budget and personnel management. While substantial academic experience is strongly preferred, it is not a requirement for consideration. Additional attributes, experience and qualities follow.
Desired Attributes
It is expected that the new dean will have such positive personal characteristics as honesty, integrity, exemplary character, and the energy and stamina for the rigors of the office. The individual chosen as the next Dean of Widener Law Delaware will have shown herself or himself to be a leader who is committed to:
Legal education of the highest quality Transparency
Diversity and inclusiveness Student success
Faculty values, including scholarship, teaching, governance, and service to the community
Shared governance and consensus-building Attracting external funding
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Experiential learning Entrepreneurship
Collaboration across the campus, within the university, and with important external constituencies
Effective budget management and a focus on fiscal sustainability Civic engagement
Experience and Accomplishments
Candidates most likely to be selected as dean will have demonstrated positive leadership experience in many of the following areas:
Fundraising Civic Engagement
Diversity and Inclusiveness Enhancement Faculty Recruiting, Development and Retention
Community and Government Relations – demonstrating a comfort level engaging with high-level politicians and influential members of the judiciary
Faculty/Staff Relations – a record of recognizing the work of faculty and staff colleagues, supporting their efforts, and showing appreciation for their contributions
Delegation – demonstrated ability to delegate responsibilities wisely, express expectations clearly, and hold faculty and staff colleagues accountable without micromanaging
Licensure Preparation – a record of effectiveness in leading efforts to ensure acceptable performance of graduates on licensing examinations or the equivalent
Leadership in the Legal Profession – major leadership involvement with one of the professional associations
Innovation – accomplishments in developing and implementing innovative programs, as well as innovative use of technology and educational delivery systems, and in leading others in their implementation
Accreditation and Assessment Strategic Planning
NOMINATIONS AND THE APPLICATION PROCESS
Review of nominations and applications will begin immediately and expressions of interest will be welcome until an appointment is made. The appointee is expected to take office on July 1, 2015. Screening will commence on November 1, 2014. Complete applications will include a detailed letter of interest addressing the qualities sought, curriculum vitae, and the names of five professional references with e-mail addresses and telephone numbers. Calls to references will be made with prior notification and consent of candidates. All submissions will be treated in confidence and should be sent electronically (MS Word format preferred) to:
WidenerLawDeanDelaware@academic-search.com
Initial screening will take place in November, followed by initial interviews in December and January; a small group of finalists will be selected for on-campus interviews in February at which time the identity of finalists will be made public.
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The search committee consists of: Joseph Baker and James May (co-chairs), Mary Allen, Iva Ferrell, Michael Goldberg, Laurie Grant, Lawrence Hamermesh, Alicia Kelly, Eugene McGurk, Paul Regan, Thomas Sager, and Serena Williams.The search committee is assisted by: Charles E. Kupchella, PhD, Senior Consultant
Academic Search, Inc. cek@academic-search.com 814-322-6282. Dr. Kupchella is available for confidential discussion about this opportunity.
Widener University is an equal opportunity employer that encourages excellence through diversity. Women and minority candidates are encouraged to apply.
