Thoughtful and strategic steps ahead

It is an honor for me to join the Emory Law community, and I greatly appreciate the welcoming messages that I have already received from many of you.

I hope to convey my appreciation to our alumni for all you have done to build one of the nation’s leading law schools. A law school’s reputation is based in significant part on the accomplishments of its alumni - and you have carried Emory Law into law firms, boardrooms, government offices, nonprofits, and public interest advocacy organizations in major centers of legal practice across the nation and around the world.

A law school’s heart - the outstanding educational programs we offer to students and the pathbreaking research we offer to the profession and society - is sustained by ongoing investments by alumni of the gifts of time, ideas, advocacy, and funds. Here, too, I have been deeply impressed by the contributions of thousands of alumni who have chosen to give back to the law school through teaching, mentoring, advisory board membership, and philanthropy at every level.

As I take up this new role, I wanted to let you know that your law school is energized and ambitious about what can be achieved in the years ahead. We will be moving thoughtfully and strategically to harness this energy and ambition to ensure that Emory Law continues to provide world-class legal education and research in an accessible and inclusive environment. As a part of this effort, there will be opportunities for you to provide feedback, perspectives, and suggestions about the law school’s current programs and future direction. With your advice and support, Emory Law will continue to recruit and retain distinguished faculty members who can offer our outstanding students the knowledge, ethical foundation, skills, and opportunities necessary to thrive in our constantly changing world.

As you read through this issue of Emory Lawyer and engage with stories about how our alumni and faculty are approaching criminal law and policy from a variety of perspectives, I hope you will share your thoughts with me at lawdean@emory.edu. I very much look forward to learning from your thoughts, perspectives, and experience.