Academic

Davison Douglas New Dean at William and Mary

By propertyprof

It's my pleasure to announce that Davison Douglas, the Arthur B. Hanson Professor and a long-time faculty member at William and Mary (and also a very important legal historian!), is the new dean at William and Mary.

From 1997 until 2004 he was Director of William & Mary's nationally acclaimed Institute of Bill of Rights Law.  In 2005, he founded the Law School's Election Law Program which he directed until 2008. Douglas graduated summa cum laude from Princeton University, and received from Yale University a law degree, a Ph.D. in history, and a master's degree in religion.  Prior to coming to William & Mary, Douglas served as a law clerk for Judge Walter R. Mansfield of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and practiced employment law as a partner in a Raleigh, North Carolina, law firm. One of the nation's leading constitutional historians, Douglas is the author or editor of seven books, including Jim Crow Moves North: The Battle Over Northern School Segregation, 1865-1954 (2005), Redefining Equality (1998), and  Reading, Writing & Race: The Desegregation of the Charlotte Schools (1995).  ...

"We are privileged to have a distinguished group of faculty who excel both as teachers and scholars, a dedicated staff, and an impressive and energetic group of students. We are also fortunate to have a highly accomplished alumni body with a strong commitment to the ideal of service," Douglas said. "William & Mary Law School has been well served by the recent leadership of President Taylor Reveley and Interim Dean Lynda Butler.  I am deeply honored to walk in their shoes and to continue the tradition of excellence at William & Mary."

Taylor Revely, W&M's president (and former dean of the law school), said:  "In my judgment, Dave Douglas will be one of the truly great deans in the long history of the country's oldest law school....  I look forward to his leadership. Having led the law school myself for almost a decade, I am intensely interested in its continued progress. Dave will ensure that."

Full post as published by The Faculty Lounge on March 20, 2009 (boomark / email).