The University of Alabama landed a very big fish today, announcing that Professor Mark Brandon of Vanderbilt Law will be its new dean. Mark is an Alabama Law graduate who went on to earn his Ph.D in politics from Princeton. He is the dean that law school faculty members, students and critics dream about because he has significant legal practice experience as well as serious scholarly chops. Brandon practiced law for seven years before returning to grad school for his doctorate. He was a tenured political science professor at Michigan before moving to Vanderbilt's law faculty in 2001.
The folks at Alabama have a lot to be excited about. Even though it's been eight years since I was on the Bama faculty, the news made me smile. And the fact that Alabama attracted such an excellent new dean is a testament to former Dean Ken Randall's work over the past two decades.
Roll Tide!
Congratulations to Mark and the University of Alabama. This is very exciting! As we say in Tuscaloosa, Roll Tide.
Posted by: Alfred L. Brophy | May 13, 2014 at 08:26 PM
It seems that there were a lot of top schools that had searches this year and almost all have now announced. By my count, GW is the only top 50 school which we are still waiting for this year, but I may be missing someone.
Posted by: Spenny | May 14, 2014 at 12:40 PM