Mark Grunewald Named Washington & Lee Interim Law Dean

As readers know, Rod Smolla will leave the helm at W&L as of July 1. He is headed to Furman. The law school has announced that senior faculty member Mark Grunewald will then take over as interim dean. Grunewald has been on the W&L faculty since 1976 and has previously served as both associate and interim dean. This will likely be an interesting dean search pitting the allure of a strong, affluent school against the limited appeal of Lexington, Va.

Comments

[Matt]

I'll be very interested to see if they search for a dean committed to the changes in the curriculum W&L was attempting or if they use this as a way to step back.

[Eric Fink]

Limited appeal? Lexington is a charming little town within close proximity to some of the best fly fishing and most beautiful mountain vistas in the eastern US. What's not to love?

[Ray Campbell]

My wife grew up in Lexington (well, at least in significant part) and remembers it as a wonderful place to live. It's not near anywhere, but it's a historic little town in an area with incredible natural beauty. It's not for everyone, but for those who like atmospheric college towns it's really tough to beat.

[Alfred Brophy]

I first saw W&L's campus when I was a junior in college. I thought it the most beautiful college I'd ever seen. Over the many years since then I've seen a heck of a lot more colleges ... and while there's some mighty stiff competition out there, I still think it the most beautiful campus I've ever seen. Those antebellum buildings that look out onto the Lee Chapel and then to the Blue Ridge Mountains beyond.... Well, simply stunning.

Now, this isn't meant in any way to disrespect any other school -- I'd say Roger Williams is way, way up there in terms of beautiful setting. To paragraph Daniel Webster, there are those who love Dartmouth's setting. University of Vermont combines the beautiful setting and some really lovely I'm among them. Continuing with the theme of mountains, the University of Colorado's way up there in the beautiful setting category. The University of Hawaii, of course, gives every school a run for its money -- though the Hilo campus may even take the cake from the Honolulu campus. And there are a lot of us who find Chapel Hill a beautiful setting. The buildings around Harvard yard have an extraordinary charm, as well, of course.

To return to Dan's subject -- lawyers seem to have relatively little appreciation for the beauty of a setting.

[Alfred]

Err, University of Vermont combines the beautiful setting and some really lovely buildings among them.