FROM THE DEAN’S DESK

ROGER A. FAIRFAX JR. Dean and Professor of Law WWhat a whirlwind year! I am truly grateful to all of WCL’s constituencies— including students, staff, faculty, alumni, donors, and the larger university and legal communities—for your steadfast support over my first year as dean. Despite the challenges the pandemic has presented, we persevered and have become stronger as a law school community. I came into this role last summer articulating a clear strategic vision for WCL’s bright future. This strategic vision rests on five key priorities: (1) Scholarship and Teaching; (2) Reputation and Impact; (3) Diversity, Community, Civility, and Respect; (4) World-Class Student and Alumni Experience; and (5) Financial Resources and Sustainability. I am thrilled to say that we have made tremendous progress across all of these strategic priorities in the past year.

On Scholarship and Teaching, we were thrilled to hire four new stellar tenure-line faculty members, all of whom will add to our strengths in teaching and scholarship. Our two lateral hires, Jamie Abrams and Maya Manian, are both accomplished scholars and teachers, and will lead and bring new energy to our Legal Rhetoric and Health Law and Policy Programs, respectively. Our two new entry-level hires, Angi Porter and Thomas Williams, come to us from fellowships at Georgetown University Law Center and Duke University, respectively, and will immediately have an impact on our first-year curriculum and will expand our faculty’s scholarly reach in new directions. Our faculty also was recognized this year as one of the top 50 law faculties for scholarly impact, moving up 18 slots from the previous survey, the largest improvement of any law school.

We made great strides in Reputation and Impact as well, with three of our specialty programs having been ranked in the Top 5, five in the Top 10, and seven in the Top 25 of the US News rankings. Also, our overall US News ranking moved up eight slots and back into the Top 75 for the first time in seven years, and our peer reputation ranking was in the Top 50. Our bar passage and job placement performance and our entering JD class admissions metrics were the strongest they have been in years. In addition, our impact was recognized far and wide. For example, WCL was honored at the White House for answering Attorney General Merrick Garland’s call to action through our work on behalf of those in the D.C. area affected by the eviction crisis, and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff participated in a roundtable discussion with our students, faculty, staff, and alumni about access to justice.

WCL also deepened its longstanding commitment to Diversity, Community, Civility, and Respect in many important ways. Our Office of Diversity, Inclusion, and Affinity Relations sponsored a number of initiatives focused on enhancing inclusion and belonging among students in our diverse community. The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee held a series of community discussion events addressing the role that lawyers can play in combating hate in our society, including a panel featuring lawyers from various anti-hate organizations. The committee also hosted a fireside chat during which I had a conversation with Jonathan Greenblatt of the Anti-Defamation League. Our Pence Law Library also curated online resources for those who would like to join the fight against hate and intolerance.

We also advanced our efforts to create a World-Class Student and Alumni Experience. Investments are being made in the areas of student wellness and mental health, career and professional development, academic support and excellence, and academic and professionalism training and preparation for a rapidly changing job market and world. We have increased engagement and enhanced communication with our alumni, and taken our message on the road—virtually and in-person—to alumni all over the world to listen, to share, and to re-engage in an effort to make WCL relevant to the lives and careers of our graduates from the time they cross the stage at Bender Arena to the time they retire and beyond.

Finally, WCL has recommitted itself to sound strategies to attract and promote the Financial Resources and Sustainability critical to our aspirations of continuing to thrive as a first-rate, top-tier law school. In addition to responsible stewardship of our financial resources, we are excited about new initiatives to attract the investments— through the generosity of new and existing donors— necessary to fuel our essential mission of preparing ethical, well-trained lawyers and professionals to lead with conviction and to “Champion What Matters” within the law and beyond.

As I often say, as extraordinary as AUWCL’s history is, our best days are ahead of us. Working together, we will ensure that AUWCL remains poised to lead from the front and will continue to shape and produce graduates who will provide much-needed leadership in our complicated world. Thank you for your support and your commitment; I cannot wait to see what we will do next!

With gratitude,

ROGER A. FAIRFAX JR.

Dean and Professor of Law American University Washington College of Law