As dean of the University of Dayton School of Law, Lisa Kloppenberg championed curricular reform, bringing national recognition for the way the School rethought legal education. She will step down as dean on June 30, 2011, after a decade of service and return to the classroom.
During her tenure, Kloppenberg also led successful efforts to diversify the faculty; re-ignite a greater spirit of service in students — who are performing pro bono hours in record numbers — and boost job placement rates. She is one of just 40 female law school deans in the U.S., according to Association of American Law Schools. When appointed, she was one of the youngest deans in the country and the first female to lead an Ohio law school. The University will launch a national search for her successor.
“It’s been a joy and privilege to work with this amazing community. There has been a tremendous amount of support from students, alumni, friends, staff, faculty and the Marianists,” Kloppenberg said. “This is a time of great momentum, and the Lawyer as Problem Solver curriculum builds on a history of innovation in the School of Law. Before national calls for legal education reform, our creative faculty stepped up and met the challenge.”
After the School of Law introduced the first accelerated five-semester law degree in the nation in 2005, it attracted media attention from Time magazine, U.S. News & World Report, The New York Times, NPR, the national Associated Press wire, CNN Radio, Bloomberg Radio and national legal publications throughout the country. In 2005, the School’s legal writing program was ranked in the top 20 in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. In 2006, the new curriculum, which offers a track in appropriate dispute resolution, received an award for excellence from the International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution. In 2007, the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching invited UDSL and just a handful of other universities — including Harvard, Stanford and Georgetown — to examine how American law schools prepare lawyers and make reform recommendations.
