UND announces search for law school dean - Grand Forks Herald
The next dean will succeed Michael McGinniss, whose three-year term has been marked by improved fundraising, higher enrollments, the return of shuttered programs and increased visibility across the state.
UND has commenced the search for the next dean of the School of Law.
Applications for the position will be accepted until it is filled, though applications received by Tuesday, Jan. 25, will be assured consideration. The anticipated start date for the new dean is July 1, 2022.
The next dean will succeed Michael McGinniss, whose three-year term has been marked by improved fundraising, higher enrollments, the return of shuttered programs and increased visibility across the state. McGinniss has decided to return to full-time teaching and research at the School of Law. He began as a professor there in 2010, and became dean in 2019.
“The search is now live,” said Eric Link, UND’s provost. “We are building a candidate pool right now.”
Once selected, the incoming dean will come to UND during a period of growth. Overall enrollment at UND has trended up recently, and the school has forged a relationship with the U.S. Space Force, signing a memorandum of understanding in August. Construction projects abound across the campus, and include the recently remodeled Chester Fritz Library and the newly-built Memorial Union. Ongoing projects include construction of the Nistler College of Business and Public Administration building, as well as several dormitories. Merrifield Hall also is slated for an update.
In 2019, when McGinniss was named to the position, the situation was not so rosey at the School of Law. Enrollment was down, and it was a time of reduced funding from the Legislature. A national search for a new dean at that time failed. The search yielded four finalists. Two of those candidates did not receive offers and the other two did not accept the job when it was offered to them.
But the situation has changed under McGinniss’ stewardship. Enrollment has increased to its highest point since 2016, McGinniss said. In the fall of 2021, the incoming class at the law school totaled 87. In 2020, the incoming class saw 81 students. The year prior, which was McGinniss’ first year as dean, 84 students joined UND’s Law School. It was a large step up from 2018, when 62 students were admitted.
McGinniss also worked to address the funding at the school both at the legislative level and through private donors. McGinniss worked with then-Interim Dean Brad Myers to raise support with UND alumni and friends of the school at the North Dakota bar. Their efforts resulted in a $2.8 million increase in funding for the 2019-2021 biennium. McGinniss told the Herald that private fundraising through the UND Alumni Association & Foundation has increased substantially, with year-over-year increases.
The positive situation at the law school, which includes a revived clinical practicum in family law, means a new national search should yield results, McGinniss said.
“We are in a very, very different position today than we were at that time by leaps and bounds, to say the least,” he said.
Like McGinniss, Link anticipates a fruitful national search for a new dean.
“We have every expectation that it's going to be a successful search,” said Link. “We have a great search committee. We have been very conscientious in planning the search, and in making sure that all of the legwork that needs to go into the conducting of a successful search was done on the front end.”
While McGinniss said he enjoys being dean of the law school, the classroom is where he feels he is meant to be. He said he is looking forward to being back in a position to mentor students, as well as conducting research.
“I used to teach professional responsibility before I became the dean, and every student would come through my classroom at some point,” he said. “... I really started to feel that pang of wanting to have that interaction, that mentoring, that professional role to them as a teacher again.”
source: https://www.grandforksherald.com/news/education/7318036-UND-announces-search-for-law-school-dean
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