Stephen Ferruolo Named Dean Of University of San Diego Law

The University of San Diego School of Law announced the appointment of its new dean, Stephen Ferruolo.  Ferruolo is a partner in the San Diego office of Goodwin Proctor.  Although he comes from practice, he sports impressive academic credentials.  He earned his JD from Stanford in 1990 and his Ph.D in history from Princeton in 1979.  He was also a Rhodes Scholar.  He was a member of the Stanford history faculty from 1979-87 and his book, The Origins of University: The Schools of Paris and Their Critics, 1100-1215, was published by Stanford University Press in 1985.  (It now sells for $271.67 used on Amazon.)

With all these recent dean hires - Wisconsin, Texas Tech, and USD all in one week - we are seeing this year's decanal hiring cycle winding down.  In only three months - which will pass in a blink of the eye - we'll be on to next year's process.

Update:  Here is a passage from the introduction of Ferruolo's Stanford book.  We'll be very interested to see how he manages a law school at this moment of contentious law school criticism. 

I believe that it can be argued that the university originated, not out of acquiesence to the demands for more specialized and practical learning, but out of resistance to these pressures.  The university was a victory, if never a complete one, for a higher educational ideal.  The examination of how this important victory was achieved might help to answer the questions of why the university has survived for so long and what are the most serious threats to its future.

Now seems a fine time to examine this victory once again.

Comments

[Alfred Brophy]

I'm delighted that there's a future in the history of the University. Dean Ferruolo has a very interesting -- and diverse -- combination of background and skills. And, Dan, there's a used copy of The Origins of the University listed on amazon now for under $100.