The University of St. Thomas School of Law invites applications and nominations for the position of Dean of the School of Law.  The law school, now in its second decade of operations, seeks to build on its remarkable success to date and pursue its vision for the future.
 
            UST Law’s mission statement dedicates it, as a Catholic law school, to “integrat[ing] faith and reason in the search for truth through a focus on morality and social justice.”  The school pursues excellence in professional preparation, scholarly engagement and societal reform, and service and community.  For example, the faculty ranks eighth in the nation for “Best Professors” in the current Princeton Review; and National Jurist ranks the school first in the nation for externships per student, largely because of its unique professional mentor program in which all students participate all three years.  The faculty ranks 38th in scholarly productivity among the 201 ABA-accredited law schools, as measured by the Leiter Scholarly Impact Score, and has published in nearly all of the top-ranked law reviews.  Central to service activities are the Interprofessional Clinicundefinedthrough which students and faculty in law, social work, and psychology assist underserved populations of the Twin Cities areaundefinedand a 50-hour public-service requirement for graduation.  UST Law’s atmosphere of community led students for five straight years to rank it among the Princeton Review’s top four law schools in the nation for quality of life.
            UST Law has succeeded because of its distinctive mission and because of substantial support from the University of St. Thomas and the community.  The school has raised $100 million in its first 10 years, enabling it to attract talented faculty and students and build a state-of-the-art building in downtown Minneapolis that an ABA site evaluation team called “quite simply breathtaking.”
 
            The University of St. Thomas, the largest private institution of higher education in Minnesota, is a Catholic university dedicated to excellence in teaching, scholarship, and service.  Founded in 1885, it currently has nearly 11,000 students in a wide range of liberal arts, professional, and graduate programs.  The law school collaborates with the university through joint degree programs and through interdisciplinary research centers on ethical leadership in the professions and on Catholic thought, law, and public policy.  Both the university and the law school benefit greatly from their location in the Twin Cities, one of the most vibrant and livable major metropolitan areas in the nation, and home to a sophisticated and diverse legal profession.
 
            UST Law seeks a distinguished legal scholar or member of the legal profession who has a commitment to academic excellence; a strong affinity for the school’s mission; an ability to articulate an inspiring vision for the school’s future; and demonstrated qualities of leadership, administration, and judgment, and the skills relevant to fundraising and to building relationships with the law school’s constituencies.  The Dean holds the Ryan Chair in Law.
            All candidates are expected to meet the qualifications for appointment at the rank of full professor with continuous tenure by virtue of their scholarly publications and/or distinguished contributions to the profession.
Applications, nominations, and inquiries should be directed to
Thomas Berg, Search Committee Co-Chair
James L. Oberstar Professor of Law & Public Policy
University of St. Thomas School of Law
MSL 400, 1000 LaSalle Avenue
Minneapolis, MN  55403-2015
(651) 962-4918
tcberg@stthomas.edu  
 
 
            The letter of application should be accompanied by a curriculum vitae and the names of at least three references.  Applications will be kept in the strictest confidence.  Review of applications will begin February 15, 2012, and will continue until the position is filled.
            For further information on the law school and the dean search, see http://www.stthomas.edu/law/deansearch.
 
            Consistent with its identity as a Catholic law school, the University of St. Thomas School of Law has successfully hired faculty from different faiths and traditions and is an Affirmative Action, Equal Opportunity employer with a strong commitment to principles of diversity and inclusion.