Law Dean Pulling Up Stakes, Taking the Reins at University

Need a new university president? Consider a law school dean.

Brandeis University on Thursday named George Washington University Law School Dean Frederick Lawrence as its new president, effective on Jan. 1, 2011.

Lawrence will move up to Massachusetts from Washington — the exact opposite of the migration by former Boston College Law School Dean John Garvey. Last month, Catholic University of America named Garvey as its new president.

Meanwhile, former Washington and Lee University School of Law Dean Rodney Smolla is one week into his new gig as the president of Furman University in Greenville, S.C. — a move that was announced in December. And Ken Starr, former dean at Pepperdine University School of Law, grabbed headlines in February when he was tapped to be the president of Baylor University.

Lawrence, who has been law dean at George Washington since 2005, pointed out that his predecessor, Michael Young, left the law school to become president of the University of Utah.

"GW law school is a very large, complex, multifaceted law school," said Lawrence, who plans to spend several days per week at Brandeis this fall in preparation for his new job. "It has close to 2,000 students, a full-time faculty of about 90 and a part-time faculty of about 250. Each year we put on about 500 different courses. I always describe running GW Law as the experience of running a small college of applied liberal arts. In many ways, I think it has prepared me well for the challenges I will have at Brandeis."

Lawrence, who plans to depart George Washington in mid-autumn, described the move as bittersweet and his tenure there as the "five most satisfying years of his professional career." He is most proud of the fundraising gains the school made under his watch, which included five of the school's six best fundraising years. He raised money to endow a new associate dean for public interest and public s ...