Public invited to meet 4 candidates considered for UA’s School of Law dean

EducationNorthwest Arkansas

by Paul Gatling ([email protected]) October 18, 2023 7:21 am 773 views 

The University of Arkansas announced four candidates Wednesday (Oct. 18) being considered for the next dean of the School of Law.

According to a UA news release, Elizabeth Weeks, Michael Higdon, Johanna Kalb and Ned Snow will hold open forums on Oct. 23, Oct. 26, Oct. 30 and Nov. 2, respectively.  All open forums will be held at 3 p.m. in the E.J. Ball Courtroom in the School of Law.

  • Weeks is associate provost for faculty affairs at the University of Georgia, where she is a professor and is the Charles H. Kirbo Chair in Law.
  • Higdon is the interim associate dean for academic affairs and the W. Allen Separk Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of Tennessee College of Law.
  • Kalb is dean of the University of Idaho College of Law.
  • Snow is associate dean for faculty development and scholarship at the University of South Carolina School of Law.

The UA is looking for a permanent replacement for Margaret Sova McCabe. She was the School of Law’s last full-time dean from 2018 to 2022.

That year, she started Jan. 1 as a senior adviser for strategic projects and a law professor at the university. She still holds both those jobs and is now also interim vice chancellor for research and innovation.

Alena Allen, a law professor and associate dean for research and faculty development, was interim dean from January 2022 to June 2022. Allen was named dean of LSU’s Paul M. Hebert Law Center earlier this year.

Cynthia Nance, the School of Law’s dean from 2006 to 2011, has been interim dean since July 1, 2022.

Kate Mamiseishvili, dean of the UA’s College of Education and Health Professions, chairs the search committee.

“The search committee and I are thrilled to bring these four finalists to campus to be considered for the School of Law dean position,” Mamiseishvili said. “These four candidates have each exemplified a strong record of academic leadership and made significant contributions to legal education and scholarship. The committee worked diligently to recruit and vet the candidates, and we can’t wait to have the Law School and campus community meet our exceptional finalists.”

For more information on the dean candidates and the search process, visit this website.

The current enrollment for fall 2023 for the UA School of Law is 396.