The University ended its search for a new dean of the law school this month empty-handed.Three finalists were named in the University’s search for the new dean, but the University was unable to secure any of the candidates.
Two of the candidates, Hiram Chodosh, currently the associate dean for academic affairs at Case Western Reserve University, and Gail Agrawal, currently the interim dean of the University of North Carolina Law School, were offered the position, but both accepted offers at other universities.
The third candidate, Kevin Johnson, currently the associate dean for academic affairs at the University of California-Davis, declined the position.
The only candidate remaining after the University-appointed search committee’s first two choices accepted offers elsewhere, Johnson was offered the position on March 14, about three weeks after the second candidate accepted an offer at another university. Lorraine Davis, vice president for academic affairs, said the search committee makes offers to candidates when it feels it is appropriate.
“We made a strong competitive offer to (Johnson) at the point in the process when this was appropriate,” Davis wrote in an e-mail. “There are many factors that impact decisions about offers and timing of offers, but in the case of (Johnson), it was clear when wemade the offer that the candidate was highly qualified, had a tremendous amount of support from many of the law school faculty, and had the chance at that point to express his thoughts about the potential match.”
The hiring process raised concerns among some members of the campus community, but University administrators would not comment on the exact nature of those concerns, Davis wrote in an e-mail interview with the Emerald on April 7. She wrote the “outcome of this search may lead some in our community to question whether the university is truly serious about hiring and retaining a diverse faculty. We are.
“We will continue to assertively move forward on conducting searches that move us towards the recruitment and retention goals described in our campus diversity plan,” Davis wrote. “We care deeply about the concerns of faculty, staff, students, and external community members about this and are committed to enhancing our diversity and our understanding of how to best accomplish our goals.”
Johnson said many factors influenced his decision to decline the University’s offer. He said he felt the offer wasn’t the best fit and he wasn’t fully aware of the controversy surrounding the situation.
“I don’t know what was going on up there, frankly,” he said. “I’m glad that chapter in my life is behind me.”
Johnson, who has worked at the University of California-Davis since 1989, has been published extensively on immigration law and policy, racial identity and civil rights. Johnson has published two books, and his special interests include immigration law and policy, refugee law, civil rights, critical race theory, critical latina/o theory and complex litigation, according to his biography on the UC Davis School of Law Web site.
Davis said the University is currently in the process of naming an interim dean for next year.
Current interim Law School dean Margie Paris said a town-hall style meeting will be held at the Knight Law Center at noon April 17 in Room 175 to address the situation.
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