Knowing Which Deanship Is the Right One

• Publication year: 2008
• Citation: Vol. 31 No. 04

UNIVERSITY OF PUGET SOUND LAW REVIEWVolume 31, No. 4SUMMER 2008

Knowing Which Deanship Is the Right One

R. Lawrence Desseni(fn*)

As with many things in life, timing and "fit" are crucial considerations for both law dean candidates and law school dean search committees. In a recent article discussing why one might not want to accept a deanship, I asserted that one should not "become a dean at the wrong place, at the wrong time, or under the wrong circumstances."(fn1) In this Article, I elaborate on this subject and suggest ways in which the dean candidate can avoid the poor fit that might lead to a deanship that is unsatisfactory, either for her as dean or for the law school that otherwise might hire her.(fn2)

In order to maximize the chance of a good fit between the dean candidate and law school, the candidate should (1) carefully plan her law school dean search; (2) conduct thorough discovery concerning schools of potential interest during the search process; (3) be candid and open during the interview process; and (4) take time to thoughtfully consider any offers received. Each of these steps in the dean search process will now be considered.

I. Carefully Plan Your Dean Search

The "dean search process" typically refers to the process by which a law school or university committee searches for a dean. These committees consider the qualities and background that they would hope to find in the ideal dean and then search for specific individuals who fit this profile. Simultaneously, however, individuals who may be interested in a deanship should construct their own profile of the law school that they ideally would like to serve and measure possible opportunities against that profile.

Many dean search committees widely solicit individuals to consider the opening at their law schools and universities. As law professors become known within legal education, they are likely to receive such overtures. Rather than simply respond to the solicitations received, the potential dean candidate should determine whether she is actually interested in seriously considering service as a dean and, if so, at what particular type of law school. The potential dean candidate should carefully plan her law school search. A thoughtful self-analysis of the individual's own strengths and weaknesses and the environment that would be most attractive in a deanship should be undertaken at the beginning of any dean search process. Careful thought at the front end of the search process can help to focus the search and prevent potential mismatches between the candidate and law schools in the dean search process.

In systematically determining which law school is the "right" one, many of the factors that the potential candidate considered in determining her initial position(s) within legal education or elsewhere will be equally relevant. These factors and their relative importance will be different for each of us, but might include the size and complexity of the law school, its geographic location, the school's mission, the realistic chances that one would be an attractive candidate for a particular school, and whether the school is public or private, has a religious affiliation, or is part of a larger university.(fn3) For some individuals, this analysis will result in a relatively small number of law schools for which the potential candidate believes she would be a good "fit." While the temptation is to favorably respond to schools well outside this group of "ideal" law schools, a wiser approach is to limit one's consideration to this core group of schools, even if this means that the candidate may have to wait a few years for appropriate opportunities to arise. As one attempts to determine the specific schools with which one would be a good fit, the candidate should carefully consider different constituencies within those law schools. When faculty speak of "fit" with a particular law school, they typically think of fit with that school's faculty. It is, indeed, crucial for a dean to have a basic fit with the school's faculty. However, the dean not only leads and interacts with the law school faculty, but also with the law school's alumni, donors, and students; the university's president, provost, and other deans and administrators; the community in which the law school is situated; the bench and bar that are particularly significant to the law school; and national legal educational organizations. The potential candidate may be able to gain a basic understanding of some of these significant constituencies before entering a...