Office of the Provost

Memorandum

April 25, 2012

Dear Colleagues:

Together with Chancellor Nordenberg, I am pleased to announce that Professor William M. Carter, Jr. has accepted my offer to become the Dean of the School of Law, effective July 1, 2012.  Professor Carter will succeed Dean Mary Crossley, who plans to assume a faculty position after seven successful years as Dean.

Professor Carter currently is Professor of Law at the Temple University Beasley School of Law and also has served on the faculty of the Case Western Reserve University School of Law.  He earned his law degree, with high honors, at Case, where he also was elected to the Order of the Coif and served as associate editor of the Case Western Reserve University Law Review.  Earlier in his career, he served as a litigation associate in the Washington, DC offices of Squire, Sanders & Dempsey and Ropes & Gray.

Professor Carter is an award-winning teacher, who has taught in the areas of Constitutional Law, Civil Procedure, Political & Civil Rights, and Litigation.  He has chaired most of the important committees at the two law schools on whose faculties he has served.  These include the Executive Committee, Faculty Recruitment and Selection Committee and Faculty Review Committee at Temple and a special committee integrating lawyering skills into the curriculum at Case.

Widely respected for his scholarship in constitutional law, international human rights law and issues of social justice, Professor Carter’s articles have been published or are in press in such highly respected law journals as the Columbia Law Review, the Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review, the International Journal of Constitutional Law and the UCLA Law Review. He also has contributed to books published by the Columbia University Press and the Oxford University Press. His work has been cited by courts, lawyers, and other scholars and he has established a national and international scholarly reputation, particularly with regard to the Thirteenth Amendment. 

Professor Carter’s vision for the School of Law is well-matched to our overall vision for the University.  He is committed to building the School in ways that will further enhance the scholarly contributions of our faculty, enable our students to be successful in their legal careers, and engage the legal profession both locally and nationally.

I am delighted that Professor Carter has agreed to serve as Dean of the School of Law and have great confidence that his scholarly leadership, and dedication to excellence in legal education will serve us well.  I very much look forward to working with Professor Carter and am confident that he will provide the leadership needed to make our School of Law programs as strong as they can possibly become.  Please join me in welcoming Professor Carter to the University of Pittsburgh.

 

Sincerely,

Patricia E. Beeson

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