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Job Description

Northern Illinois University
Dean of the College of Law
DeKalb, IL

Northern Illinois University (NIU) invites applications and nominations for the position of Dean of the College of Law.

NIU College of Law is the only public law school in the greater Chicago area. Located 60 miles from downtown Chicago, in DeKalb, Illinois, NIU Law offers a full-time day program to about 300 students. The faculty consists of 18 tenured and tenure-track professors, as well as tenured and tenure-track library faculty and other professionals. In addition to the traditional markers of scholarly productivity, members of NIU Law's faculty have distinguished themselves as dedicated teachers and as leaders of professional and academic organizations on the state and national level.

NIU Law was founded on the core belief that a legal education of the highest quality should be affordable for students of all backgrounds and interests. Law graduates' debt loads are less than one half the national average, affording graduates the freedom of their professional choice. Approximately one-third of each year's graduates enter public sector/public interest careers.

NIU Law enjoys the advantages of being affiliated with a major research institution that enrolls approximately 25,000 students. In addition to the J.D., Northern Illinois University offers baccalaureate, master's, and doctoral degrees across more than 40 academic departments in seven degree-granting colleges. The Dean is a member of the law faculty and an important part of the university administration, working closely with the university President, the Provost, and fellow Deans in defining and achieving the mutual benefits a campus-based law school can bring to the university as a whole.

Since 1974, NIU Law has maintained a proud tradition of graduating students who not only master legal doctrine and become skilled in practice but also commit themselves to serving the needs of a diverse and ever-changing society. Approximately one-third of the students are people of color. From 2005 to 2008, the Princeton Review has ranked NIU Law within the top 10 law schools in the nation in faculty diversity; about 40 percent of the members of the faculty are people of color and about 40 percent are women.

QUALIFICATIONS: As a member of the faculty, the successful candidate will possess qualifications appropriate to a tenured full professor and will have significant experience in legal education. Internally, the Dean is expected to provide the open and collaborative leadership necessary to preserve and enhance NIU Law's commitment to scholarship and outstanding, student-centered legal education. Externally, the Dean has major responsibilities for the law school's relationships with alumni, the legal profession, the academy, and the larger public we serve. Creative fund raising, development initiatives and the enhancement of the law school's public reputation will be priorities. The Dean will be assisted in these tasks by a dedicated and diverse faculty and staff, ready to build on the past while writing the next chapter in the history of this collegial and ambitious law school.

APPLICATIONS: Candidates must provide a cover letter describing their interest in and qualification for the position, along with a current curriculum vitae and five current professional references with contact information. All materials will be treated as confidential. Nominations, expressions of interest, and applications can be submitted confidentially via email to the university's consultant, Witt/Kieffer (to the attention of Lucy Leske and Manny Berger) at NIULawDean@wittkieffer.com. Preference will be given to complete applications received by November 3, 2008; however, applications will be accepted until the position is filled. Confidential inquiries may be made by emailing the above address or calling Witt/Kiefer at 630-575-6178.

Materials that cannot be sent by email may be directed to:

Further information about the College of Law and the position may be found at http://law.niu.edu.

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