Robert Ward, dean of the UMass School of Law - who oversaw the acquisition of Southern New England School of Law by UMass Dartmouth - resigned yesterday, effective today. His stated reason was that his two hour commute was taking a toll on his health and family. At the same time, however, he disclosed that he had used his state credit card for personal expenses and (once told of this) had reimbursed the state.
We've previously blogged about the controversial merger between UMass and SNESL here, here, here, and here. It's easy to imagine that every aspect of the law school's operation was subject to greater scrutiny once the school switched from being a free-standing, private institution. It will be very interesting to see if the university selects an academic, a practicing lawyer, or someone with strong political ties to head the institution going forward.
Thoughts about how this will affect the school's hiring process and accreditation potential?
Posted by: anon | October 21, 2011 at 10:04 AM