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UVIC LAW FACULTY NEWS
from July 2023
By Julie Sloan*
Freya Kodar Becomes New Dean Of Law
On July 1, 2023, Freya Kodar began her term as Dean of Law.
Freya is a graduate of the UVic Faculty of Law’s co-op program (Class of ’95) and joined the faculty in 2005. She served as Associate Dean, Administration and Research from 2016 to 2021. Her research focuses on income and financial inequality across the life course, and she researches and teaches in the areas of consumer law, pensions and disability and the law. She is one of the co-authors of Law and Disability in Canada: Cases and Materials, the first Canadian textbook on law and disability.
During her term, her priorities include leading the faculty through strategic planning and curriculum reform processes, and the completion of the Indigenous-informed new wing that will house the National Centre for Indigenous Laws, classrooms and spaces that are appropriate for teaching and learning Indigenous laws, and purpose-built space for the faculty’s clinical programs and research centres. She looks forward to marking the faculty’s 50th anniversary in 2025 in this transformative space, and to celebrating the faculty’s contributions and those of our alumni to the province, the country and the world.
In the coming months and years, she looks forward to connecting with alumni and the legal community and invites you to reach out to her at <lawdean@uvic.ca>.
Val Napoleon, who had been serving as interim dean since 2021, will resume teaching as well as her roles as director of both the joint degree program in Canadian common law and Indigenous legal orders (J.D./J.I.D.) and the Indigenous Law Research Unit after taking some well-earned time away from administrative duties and teaching. Her leadership has seen construction begin on the $41 million National Centre for Indigenous Laws, an addition to the existing Anne and Murray Fraser Building. She also led the completion of the year-long Academic and Program Review and Self-Study, the review of the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion program, and numerous other faculty management initiatives. In addition, she led the collaboration with UBC and TRU faculties of law to explore and begin developing comprehensive legal competencies for legal education.
