MEET THE DEAN: Jean Holloway By Jackie Bussjaeger
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ccording to the
American Bar Association, the percentage of men and women in law school administration is roughly equal. However, only 21% of law school deans are women, with the greatest proportion of women holding the position of assistant dean. This imbalanced scale of women’s leadership is so prevalent in American institutions that it is still unusual for universities to hire women into positions of power. Hamline, however, has recently taken a step in the other direction. On Jan. 6, the Hamline School of Law officially welcomed Jean Holloway as its next dean. This is a historic appointment because Holloway is not only the first woman to hold this posi-
tion at Hamline, but the first woman to become dean of a law school in Minnesota. She discussed her perception of playing this important role and of Hamline’s method of selection. “Obviously, you want to be selected on basis of merit,” Holloway said. “They obviously want qualified people, but they really do reach out. I believe that Don [Lewis] was the first dean of color at the law school. It’s an honor to lead this institution, and it says a lot about the institution as well. We also have a woman president, and I think it really breaks that glass ceiling.” According to the Hamline website, Holloway’s responsibilities as dean include “overseeing and providing strategic direction to the School of Law’s academic and related programs, leading the recruitment and retention ef-
forts of the school, managing its fiscal resources, leading its fundraising efforts, and serving as a university officer in collaborative work on governance, strategic planning, fund development, and institutional assessments.” Holloway also described some of her duties in her own words. “My essential function is mainly as administrator of the law school; the business side as well as fundraising, and really just growing the business community and curricular development.” It is a challenging time to be stepping into this position, because law school enrollment has been declining for several years not only at Hamline, but nationwide. As of 2013, there were only 88 students enrolled in the Hamline School of Law, according to the class profile on Hamline’s website.
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