Dean, School of Law

Baylor University

Dean, School of Law

Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked Research 1 institution according to the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 20,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating university in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 100 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions.

Established in 1857, Baylor University School of Law is the oldest law school in Texas and one of the first west of the Mississippi River. It is accredited by the American Bar Association and is a member of the Association of American Law Schools. With one of the lowest student-faculty ratios in the country, Baylor Law has a record of producing outstanding lawyers, many of whom decide upon a career in public service. Baylor Law strives, in the context of a Christian commitment, to integrate excellence in teaching and scholarship to develop lawyers who will practice law with competence, serve with compassion, and provide effective and ethical leadership.

Today, Baylor Law ranks among the top 50 best law schools in U.S. News & World Report and enjoys a national reputation for preparing lawyers for a legal career. Baylor Law is ranked #3 in trial advocacy among the 199 law schools ranked by U.S. News, #1 in the country by the Blakely Advocacy Center for its moot court program, #13 in the nation for law schools with the highest percentage of federal clerkships (per the ABA), #1 in the percentage of Super Lawyers and Rising Stars, and earned an A+ for Best Schools for Practical Training by The National Jurist. Baylor Law’s record of bar passage success tops the other nine Texas law schools, and the ABA-calculated ultimate bar passage rate is 99.23%. Baylor’s rigorous program produces outstanding lawyers, recruited by employers who seek lawyers with the preparation, poise, and proficiency to hit the ground running.

The School has more than 7,800 living alumni and is the proud alma mater to two governors, members or former members of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, two former directors of the FBI, U.S. ambassadors, federal judges, justices of the Texas Supreme Court and Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, and members of the Texas Legislature.

Baylor Law consists of 26 tenured and tenure-track faculty, 7 lecturers, 2 academic professionals, and 36 full-time staff. In Fall 2022, Baylor Law enrolled 427 students. The School has an operating budget of $29.9 million, is fiscally quasi-autonomous, and has a dedicated endowment of well over $400,000 per student.

Reporting to Provost Nancy Brickhouse, the dean is the chief academic and administrative officer of the School of Law and serves as an essential member of the University’s leadership team. The dean will set the strategic direction for the School, advancing its mission and operations by overseeing administration, personnel, fundraising, budgeting and finance, academic programs, and marketing and communications. The dean will work with an administrative team to lead the School in pursuing its mission.

Baylor University invites inquiries, nominations, and applications for the position of Dean of the School of Law. Interested candidates should confidentially submit a curriculum vitae and letter of interest (Adobe PDF files preferred) to Baylor.Law@russellreynolds.com.

To access the full position description please visit: https://russellreynoldsassociates.sharefile.com/d-sd0f7f607f7d3491882db4f264dfd4ac6

For fullest consideration, materials should be received as soon as possible and preferably by July 17.