Annette Clark Named Dean At SLU Law

Annette Clark, Associeate Professor of Law and former interim, vice, and associate dean of Seattle University School of Law, has been named the new dean at Saint Louis University School of Law.  She will take over on July 1.  She holds a JD from the University of Puget Sound Law and an MD from the University of Washington and seems to be a great fit for SLU, given its serious focus on health law.  

Clark is yet another example of a new dean with a JD from a non-elite school.  At some point, it becomes impossible to ignore the notion that people who get hired into the academy with non-elite JD's excel (at disproportionate rates) in the skills most essential for becoming a dean.  And the skills at issue vary.  In some cases, it may be that these individuals hold degrees from local schools and have better ties to local donors.  Other times, it may be that these professors have focused less on scholarship and more on the administrative skills important to deaning.  And in yet other cases, it may be that the sort of person who can sell herself in a faculty search, notwithstanding a non-elite degree - either through her exceptional scholarly talents or interpersonal skills - is also the sort of person who rises to the top in a dean search.  Yes, as some critics have argued, there may be a generational component.  It's possible that this phenomenon will become less and less common as the academy hires fewer and fewer non-elite grads.  But I think there's something more going on here.

Whatever the case, it has happened again at SLU.  Congratulations to all concerned.

Comments

[Eric Chiappinelli]

This is great news. Congratulations to Dean Clark and also to St. Louis University. She has terrific credentials and experience and should be a very good fit for St. Louis U.'s opportunities. SLU is lucky to have her for their Dean.

[Alfred Brophy]

Yes, congratulations to Dr. Clark and to SLU as well. This is most exciting.

[Doug Richmond]

I wish Dean Clark great success, and I think that a JD from an elite school is generally meaningless, but I am not sure that I would assign so much weight or importance to her possession of a non-elite JD when she has an MD. It seems to me that an MD is an enormous distinction given the central thrust of your post.

[Omer Poos]

Pity the poor folks at Saint Louis who don't do health law . . . .

[Vickie]

Congratulations to Dean Clark and SLU! They have both made a fabulous choice!

[Mary Dudziak]

Is this a first? A Dean with an MD?

Re: Dan Filler's comments about dean hiring generally -- from Dean Clark's bio
http://law.seattleu.edu/Faculty/Faculty_Profiles/Annette_Clark.xml she was a Washington state resident who went to the Univ. of Washington medical school -- a fine med school and obvious choice for in-state residents. 4 years after the MD she received her JD -- and was first in her class. So this looks like an example of an exceptionally talented person who chose, perhaps for professional or personal reasons, to go to law school locally.

Law school hiring often takes the JD school as a proxy for talent, and this strikes me of an example of why it's important to look beneath the surface.