Mark Adams, vice dean at Valparaiso University Law School in Indiana, was appointed dean of the University of Idaho College of Law Thursday, succeeding Interim Dean Michael Satz.
Adams came out on top after a national search for legal education professionals and will take the position effective June 22. Adams also served as the associate dean for Academic Affairs, director of International Programs and as a professor at Valparaiso.
Interim Provost Katherine Aiken said Adams’ experience in both law and higher education will be instrumental as the implementation of the second-year law program in Boise takes effect.
“We’re pleased that somebody who has his administrative experience in a college of law is coming to lead the law school in what is a pretty exciting time for them as they do this major expansion,” Aiken said.
Preceding his tenure at Valparaiso, Adams was an associate at Davis Wright Termaine LLP in Seattle and received his law degree from the University of Chicago.
As a member of the search committee, Vice President of Research Jack McIver said the search process was thorough and ultimately yielded the right person for the job.
“I think everybody was interested in doing a good job in searching for the new dean,” McIver said. “Everybody understood the importance of doing the search well in getting the best candidate pool we could find — and that’s what we did.”
McIver said each of the four finalists were interviewed, spoke with administrators and deans of the other colleges, held an open forum for students and faculty and visited both the Moscow and Boise campuses. He said he had a positive impression of Adams.
“I found him to be very engaging, bright and full of some good ideas,” McIver said. “I — and I think I can speak for most others — look forward to working with him in the near future.”
Adams said, in a UI press release, he is impressed by the university’s law program and is excited to get to work in June
“The law school is widely recognized for providing an excellent education and value to effectively prepare students for professional careers and positions of leadership, faculty dedicated to personal teaching and influential scholarship, as well as its long-standing commitment to service,” Adams said. “I look forward to working with the distinguished members of the law school and university to guide the law school in continuing to make a difference in Idaho and the lives of its students and alumni.”
Amber Emery can be reached at [email protected]