Harold Krent will be stepping down as dean of IIT – Chicago Kent law school next summer after a 17-plus year run. That's a big deal. According to Jim Rosenblatt and his amazing list of deans, Krent is the fourth longest serving law school dean in the country. This is the school's dean search announcement:
IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law seeks a visionary and decisive leader to build on the school’s history of excellence and innovation in legal education. The Dean must engage effectively with all Chicago-Kent stakeholders, including faculty, alumni, students, staff, and practitioners in the fields of law, business, technology and policy, to strategically implement his or her vision for Chicago Kent’s future. The Dean will report to the Illinois Institute of Technology (“IIT”) Provost, Peter Kilpatrick, and be responsible for the law school’s academic programs, operating budget, personnel management, strategic planning, public relations and fundraising.
Founded in 1888, IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law has a long history of excellence in providing rigorous, innovative legal training to a diverse student body. Chicago-Kent is located in downtown Chicago, in the heart of Chicago’s business community. For the past 40 years, Chicago-Kent has committed itself to nurturing an engaged, productive, and vibrant scholarly faculty. It has also established a reputation as among the nation’s leading law schools in the areas of innovation, intellectual property, advocacy, law and technology, and legal writing. Its alumni thrive in the Chicago legal market. The school benefits from its unique position within a technical university and from its central location in one of the most vibrant cities in the world.
The new Dean’s primary responsibility will be to build on Chicago-Kent’s foundation of excellent legal education and high-quality faculty scholarship.
Essential qualifications for this position include:
– Vision. The new Dean must understand the challenges of modern legal education and locate new opportunities for educational innovation while also developing Chicago-Kent’s unique strengths. The new Dean also must be committed to producing graduates who are not just attorneys skilled in contemporary legal practice, but also engaged professionals dedicated to the advancement of the law, legal practice, and society.
– Exceptional Leadership Skills. The new Dean will need to lead the Chicago-Kent community in a collaborative effort to create and execute a strategic mission for the school. Chicago-Kent’s faculty members are eager to work with a leader who is energetic, creative, supportive, and
able to inspire the law school community. The new Dean will need to find effective ways to continue to publicize the law school’s exceptional qualities to prospective students, alumni, employers, judges, and faculty at other law schools.
– Collaborative Skills. The new Dean will have a powerful voice in the development of collaborative activities linking the law school with the university’s other colleges and schools and will need to work effectively with Illinois Tech’s administrative and academic leaders.
– A Commitment to Diversity. Chicago-Kent is and always has been a diverse, eclectic, and heterogeneous community. From its inception, the law school has served Chicago's immigrant and working class communities. It accepted women and students of color from the beginning, graduating its first African-American woman in 1894. Today, Chicago-Kent continues to be dedicated to providing opportunities for all, regardless of race, class, sex,
religion, national origin, citizenship status, disability, age, sexual orientation, or gender identity. The new Dean must be committed to that diversity and eager to promote its advantages.
– Interpersonal Skills. The new Dean must be able to effectively engage diverse constituencies. Inside the law school, this includes students, faculty, and staff. Outside the law school, this includes alumni, practitioners in the fields of law, business, and technology, community leaders, policymakers, and leaders of other educational institutions.
– A Commitment to Institutional Development. The new Dean will be expected to maintain close relationships with the Chicago-Kent alumni and donor community to bolster their support for the school, maintain and enhance current sources of revenue for the school while also identifying potential new ones, and capitalize on the law school’s location in one of the nation’s most vibrant legal markets.
Nominations and applications will be accepted until the position is filled. Applicants should send a letter of interest and a CV. All inquiries, nominations, and applications will be treated in a confidential manner and the candidate will be alerted prior to any reference checks being conducted. All correspondence relating to the position should be directed to:
Professor Christopher W. Schmidt
Chair, Chicago-Kent Dean Search Committee
565 West Adams Street
Chicago, IL 60661-3691
(312) 906-5389
deansearch@kentlaw.iit.edu