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John E. Montgomery |
Dear Alumni: After 16 years, I will be leaving the dean’s position on June 30. Frank Mood, a partner in the Columbia office of Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd, will serve as interim dean while the search for a permanent dean continues. It has been an honor and privilege to serve as dean of the University of South Carolina School of Law over such an extended period. I believe I am the third longest-serving dean in the country. When I look back over this period, there have been many significant changes in legal education in general and at our law school in particular. Legal education has become much more reliant on technology, both in teaching and in research. I could not have imagined in 1987, when I started my tenure as dean, that today we would be offering a course in human trafficking from our law school over the Internet, connecting our students with students in Indonesia and students in Germany. Nor could I have imagined that we would be involved in a joint program in environmental studies with Vermont Law School, or that we would be actively involved with the increasing emphasis on legal professionalism through our Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough Professionalism Center or that we would be working with the National Advocacy Center on a variety of issues affecting prosecutors nationally. Even with all these activities, legal education remains at its core a group of dedicated faculty members who are teaching great students. I am proud to say we have both. Our faculty is the strongest it has ever been, and it will become even stronger as we add six new faculty members in the next five years. And I believe we have the greatest group of students anywhere. They are bright, hard working, creative, and are selfless in devoting their time to good causes. Most importantly, they go on to become fine lawyers, public servants, and business leaders. Of course, committed alumni are vitally important to the success of any law school. You have been stellar in your support of our law school, and I am sure that you will continue that support in the future. While our law school has many challenges, especially in these difficult economic times, our opportunities far outweigh our difficulties. Our new law building, outstanding new faculty members and programs, which are gaining national attention, should make this a very attractive opportunity for a new dean. I hope our search committee will find the right person within the next year. Personally, I am looking forward to a sabbatical and a return to full-time teaching in August 2004. Thank you for making my experience as dean of the University of South Carolina School of Law a great one. John E. Montgomery |
