By Jamie L. Freedman
GW Law School bid a fond farewell to Dean Frederick M. Lawrence this month, ushering in a new era on H Street. Mr. Lawrence assumes the presidency of Brandeis University on Jan. 1, marking the second time in a decade that a reigning GW Law School dean has been tapped to lead a major university. Mr. Lawrence’s GW predecessor, Michael K. Young, is now president of the University of Utah.
A nationwide search is underway for Mr. Lawrence’s successor, led by Roger H. Trangsrud, James F. Humphreys Professor of Complex Litigation and Civil Procedure. Mr. Trangsrud, who served as the school’s interim dean prior to Mr. Lawrence’s arrival, chairs the 12-member Dean Search Committee, composed of faculty members and leaders from across the Law School and the university. Mr. Trangsrud also spearheaded the school’s 1988 dean search.
As the search process unfolds, the Law School will be led by interim dean Gregory E. Maggs. Mr. Maggs, who joined the GW faculty in 1993, has served as the Law School’s senior associate dean for academic affairs since 2008.
“Greg knows the institution inside and out and has done a spectacular job as senior associate dean for academic affairs,” Mr. Trangsrud says. “He will do a great job maintaining the momentum and upward trajectory that Dean Lawrence has begun.”
Over the past 17 years, Mr. Maggs has served the Law School as an award-winning faculty member and co-director of the National Security & U.S. Foreign Relations Law Program. An expert in contracts, commercial law, constitutional law and counterterrorism law, he is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School and clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justices Anthony M. Kennedy and Clarence Thomas.
A third-generation law professor, Mr. Maggs follows in the footsteps of his father—a law professor at the University of Illinois for the past 45 years, and grandfather, who taught at Duke Law School for 36 years. “When you combine our years of service, we have been teaching law students for a century,” says Mr. Maggs, who has won the Law School’s Distinguished Faculty Service Award four times.
In addition to his work in academia, Mr. Maggs has served as a reserve officer in the Army JAG Corps for the past 20 years. Since 2007, he has served as a military judge on the U.S. Army Court of Criminal Appeals, working on at least one appellate case per month.
“Greg Maggs has long been known in our community as a leader and an outstanding scholar,” says Tom Morrison, senior associate dean for administrative affairs, who has worked closely with him for many years. “We are fortunate to have him guiding us during this time of transition, and I have no doubt that he will use this time to improve all areas of operation within the Law School.”
Mr. Maggs says he looks forward to “helping showcase the Law School” and praises Mr. Lawrence for his outstanding leadership. “I’m thankful for all that Fred has done for GW Law School and grateful for the opportunity to have worked closely with him,” he says. “Fred has left the Law School in a very strong position and has given us a very clear vision of what we need to do over the coming months.”
The search for the next dean of GW Law School is moving rapidly through its initial stages. Since the search committee’s establishment in September, members have developed a recruitment plan, solicited input from students, alumni, faculty and staff, and advertised the job in a variety of media.
“Committee members have also contacted every dean and assistant dean at the top 50 law schools in the country for suggestions on worthy dean candidates, which has yielded a list of more than 350 nominees,” Mr. Trangsrud says. “We are now in the process of calling everyone on the list to assess their level of interest in applying for the position.”
To ensure that the voices of the Law School’s various stakeholders are clearly heard throughout the search and interview process, parallel alumni, student and senior staff committees were created—each responsible for tapping the ideas of their own constituents.
“Each of the three committees has surveyed their constituents to identify the top characteristics and qualities they seek in the next dean, as well as the most pressing challenges and priorities the next dean should focus on,” Mr. Trangsrud says. “We will use the surveys to identify the issues that are most in the minds of each group and develop a list of standardized questions for the candidates.”
The committee expects to schedule screening interviews with the top 15 to 20 candidates early in the new year, and subsequently decide as a group which of the contenders to invite to campus for full interviews.
“The campus interviews will likely take a day and a half per candidate and will include meetings with groups of stakeholders and a formal presentation to the law faculty,” says Mr. Trangsrud, who expects the interviews to run from late January through March. “By the end of March, we will forward a list of the top three candidates to the provost and president, who will select the new dean.” The dean will assume the helm of GW Law School this summer.
“The dean has very broad effects on the character and development of an institution, so finding the right person is crucial,” Mr. Trangsrud says. “We are one of the five largest law schools in the nation, with 2,000 students, 90 full-time faculty members, 300 part-time faculty and a staff that goes along with all of that, and leading it will consume most of the dean’s waking hours.”
“This deanship will be one of the most coveted opportunities in higher education this year,” Mr. Trangsrud adds. “GW Law School is one of the most attractive law schools in the country in which to be dean. My mailbox is filling up. It’s going to be an exciting year.”