Texas Southern University announced on June 16 that it had replaced Joan Bullock as the dean of the Thurgood Marshall School of Law, after three years at the helm. Professor Okezie Chukwumerije will serve as interim dean effective immediately.
The school made the announcement in an email to students and staff, but gave no reason for Bullock’s departure.
However, Bullock was not popular with the student body, due to various issues. Chief among them was the school’s low bar passage rate — only 33 to 50% for first-time bar examinees.
Bullock’s tenure was marked by turmoil.
As the school’s first female dean, she came to the school intending to improve bar scores. She had faced similar issues at her prior position as president and dean of Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego, where the school had been placed on probation from the American Bar Association and ultimately lost its accreditation.
At her first new student orientation in 2019, she noticed students in attendance who were not formally enrolled. That led to an investigation that eventually found that an assistant dean had been illegally receiving money to admit students and that the school had never reviewed more than 500 applications. The pay-for-play scandal had been sapping the school’s ability to post higher bar pass rates. Bullock acted quickly to repair the damage and within a year the ABA announced the school was in full compliance with admissions standards.
But the school still struggled with bar passage rates. While the bar passage rate for first time takers improved from 45% in 2018 to 53.45% in 2021, the ultimate bar passage rate dropped from 87.4% to 77%. Law schools must be above 75% to retain accreditation.
A student statement issued prior to her departure summed up other issues.
“Sadly, we have not seen the traction we desire for our school,” it states. “We have heard the painful stories you have been enduring during your tenure, experienced the effects of the high turnover in our faculty and administration, and that you all are ready for an immediate change.”
Chukwumerije previously served as Thurgood Marshall’s associate dean for academic affairs and has taught at the school since 2003.
