On Tuesday, the University of California, Hastings College of Law announced that Frank Wu has been named the school’s next dean.
Wu is a legal professor at Howard University who previously served as dean of Wayne State University Law School in Detroit, Mich. Upon his appointment at Wayne State, Wu was the youngest law school dean in the country.
About the decision, Bruce Simon, Chair of the Hastings Board of Directors and co-chair of the Dean Selection Committee, said, “Wu is a brilliant, world-class scholar and national leader in higher education. He was selected because of his powerful strategic vision for raising our 131-year-old law school to a new level.”
In making the decision, Simon was joined on the Committee by four board members and three faculty members, and an independent search firm also assisted.
Quoted in the full press release (PDF), Wu indicated that today’s law students must be prepared with career-oriented skills, the willingness to contribute in a global economy and the ability to blend other disciplines into their discourse.
Outside his views on a proper legal education, Wu also specified that he intends to begin the College of Law’s first-ever capital campaign. Additionally, he plans to donate $25,000 of his salary every year to the school for scholarships and academic support. Wu will assume the deanship on July 1, 2010.
