The University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UALR) invites applications and nominations for the position of Dean of the William H. Bowen School of Law.
Little Rock is the capital city and largest metropolitan area in Arkansas, boasting extremely affordable housing, many cultural attractions and close proximity to extensive wilderness and recreational areas. The Bowen School of Law is located in recently revitalized downtown Little Rock, less than two miles from the state capitol, the federal, state and county courthouses, the largest law firms in the state, and the Clinton Presidential Library. Housed in a spacious 150,000 square foot building that was completely renovated in 1992, the law school is situated on the east side of historic MacArthur Park, a large urban park containing the Arkansas Arts Center and the MacArthur Museum of Military History, within the historic Quapaw Quarter.
UALR, classified as “doctoral/research” by the Carnegie Foundation, is Arkansas’s premier metropolitan university and enrolls approximately 12,000 full- and part-time students. In addition to the J.D., the university offers baccalaureate, masters’, and doctoral degrees across more than thirty departments in seven degree-granting colleges.
Founded in 1975, the School of Law is fully accredited by the American Bar Association and is a member of the Association of American Law Schools. It offers both a full-time day and a part-time evening program of legal education to a student body of approximately 400 students, with a permanent teaching faculty of approximately 25 full-time members and a significant number of adjunct attorneys. Both the faculty and student body are diverse, not only racially, but geographically, economically, and by other indicators as well. The law school offers five concurrent degree programs, of which two are with the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and one with the new University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service. The latter, a JD/MPS, is the only one of its kind in the United States.
The law school’s faculty members are productive scholars who make significant contributions through research and service to the state, the nation and the world. The law school is home to the faculty-edited Journal of Appellate Practice and Process. From the law school’s founding, the faculty has supported a curriculum ahead of its time with respect to skills integration. Today the school has strong clinical and externship programs, and a 5-hour second year required skills sequence. Faculty and students have numerous close connections with the bench and bar. The dual UALR/Pulaski County Law Library, serving and funded by both the law school and the county bar association, is one outstanding example of these connections. The School of Law seeks a dean who will help the school build on its achievements and take the next steps forward.
The dean of the School of Law provides leadership in all aspects of its operation and supports and maintains the law school’s mission. Reporting to the provost, the dean works collaboratively with the other deans, the provost and the chancellor to help develop and implement the law school’s and University’s strategic plans and other institutional goals.
The successful dean candidate will be expected to:
Candidates should have a J.D. degree, a distinguished record of professional achievement, and a demonstrated capacity for effective administration, successful fundraising, intellectual leadership and collaboration in a legal or academic setting. Candidates should manifest strong and effective communication skills.
Candidates should provide a cover letter describing their interest in and qualification for the position, along with a curriculum vitae and names and contact information for five references. Electronic submission of materials, in Word or Word Perfect format, is preferable. For more information about the law school, interested persons should visit http://www.law.ualr.edu/.
Nominations, expressions of interest and applications should be submitted to Associate Dean for Academic Affairs A. Felecia Epps, Vice Chair, Dean Search Committee, at afepps@ualr.edu. The position will remain open until filled, but for fullest consideration, application before October 1, 2008 is encouraged. Material that cannot be emailed may be sent to Associate Dean Epps at the William H. Bowen School of Law, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, 1201 McMath Ave., Little Rock, AR 72202.
The University of Arkansas at Little Rock is an equal opportunity affirmative action employer and actively seeks the candidacy of minorities, women, and persons with disabilities. Under Arkansas law, all applications are subject to disclosure. The person hired must have proof of legal authority to work in the United States.
Revised: 7/2/2008