Displaying items by tag: Ryan G Vacca
Monday, 11 July 2016 20:00
UA Names Wilson Interim President
The University of Akron wasted little time finding an interim President to fill the vacuum left by the remnants of the Scarborough Administration, tapping the Dean of the University of Akron School of Law for the post.
Matthew Wilson has been on the faculty of the school in 2014 and during his tenure is credited with helping boost enrollment at the school when other law schools have recorded declines. Student enrollment has suffered at the University of Akron and is a high priority for improvement, says Board of Trustees Chairman Roland Bauer.
Wilson's appointment is for 18 months. Interim leadership was also announced for the College of Engneering and College of Law.
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(University of Akron) Following weeks of conversations within the campus and the community at large, the University’s Trustees tonight named School of Law Dean Matthew J. Wilson as interim president.
Wilson, whose 18-month appointment begins at once, has increased enrollment and employment rates at the School of Law in a challenging environment for legal education.
“We are convinced (Wilson) will help the entire University achieve the same kind of successes that have been realized within the School of Law,” said Board Chairman Roland H. Bauer.
Wilson said he was humbled by the appointment.
“My commitment to serve as interim president stems from my firm belief in the greatness of this institution, my faith in the University and local communities, as well as my genuine desire to see The University of Akron excel,” Wilson said. “We have exceptional students, faculty, staff, programs, and opportunities here at The University of Akron. We also have an alumni base and community that truly care.”
Areas of focus
In announcing Wilson’s appointment, Chairman Bauer described areas of focus for Wilson to address that include:
· developing a sustainable budget;
· increasing enrollment;
· accelerating our progress in increasing student retention;
· rebuilding and strengthening relationships with our various constituencies; and,
· significantly growing our development efforts.
“Achieving those goals will require a strong and capable leader,” Bauer said, “and we believe we have found that person.”
Wilson called for the campus and community to unite to solve the challenges.
“I am confident that things will be much better tomorrow so long as everyone can quickly come together, collectively seek sustainable solutions to budgetary challenges, exercise patience and understanding in the process, and work as a team going forward,” Wilson said. “Dwelling on recent events will only serve to compound existing challenges. It is my intent to work collaboratively with our outstanding faculty and staff. My door will always be open. I invite everyone to join with me in not only working to conquer existing challenges and rebuilding relationships, but also to innovate and explore new opportunities.”
Accomplishments at Akron Law
Bauer said Wilson’s accomplishments at the School of Law prepare him well for the interim position. Wilson and the faculty and staff at Akron Law have:
· increased the school’s enrollment as other law schools recorded declines;
· developed innovative program offerings, including a unique dual country, tri-city study abroad program;
· helped students excel in both bar passage rates and national competitions for client counseling and trial advocacy; and,
· provided practical experience for students through a new, intensive course in which leading trial attorneys and judges from around the region participate and help students learn how to conduct a trial from beginning to end.
“Employment preparation and placement are important priorities for the School of Law,” Bauer said, “and success has been seen there as well. The employment rate (within nine months of graduation) for the 142 Akron Law graduates in the Class of 2015 – excluding four students who were pursuing additional graduate degrees and four students whose status was unknown – was 92.5 percent.”
Wilson, who also is a tenured faculty member, came to UA in 2014 after serving as professor and Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Associate Dean of Student Affairs at The University of Wyoming College of Law. He is a graduate of the University of Utah with a B.S. in Political Science and a B.A. in Asian Studies and holds a J.D. from Temple University School of Law.
Discussions and consultations
Throughout June and this month, the Trustees met with representatives from campus groups to hear about their desires in an interim president. Groups consulted included faculty, staff, students, deans, department chairs and school directors, the leadership of the University Council, the Faculty Senate and the AAUP. Several members of the community at large also provided priorities.
“These discussions were very constructive, productive and positive,” Bauer said. “Uniformly, we heard a key message – that we must all work hard together to move The University of Akron forward. Indeed, that phrase – ‘move forward’ – was heard time and time again.”
Separately, the Board also approved interim leadership for the College of Engineering and the School of Law. Dr. Donald Visco will lead the College of Engineering, and Sarah Cravens and Ryan Vacca will jointly lead the School of Law.
Interim leadership named for engineering, law
The Board of Trustees announced Monday interim leadership appointments for two colleges:
· Dr. Donald J. Visco was named interim dean of the College of Engineering.
· Sarah M.R. Cravens and Ryan G. Vacca were named interim co-deans of the School of Law.
· Visco, who joined UA in 2010, is associate dean of undergraduate studies in the College of Engineering. Before that, he was professor of chemical engineering at Tennesee Technology University for 11 years.
Visco earned a bachlor’s degree and Ph.D. in chemical engineering, both from the State University of New York at Buffalo.
Cravens is associate dean and an associate professor of law at the School of Law. She joined the school in 2005.
She earned her bachelor’s or A.B. from Princeton University, her master’s in philosophy from Cambridge University, and her Juris Doctor from Washington & Lee University.
Prior to joining the faculty, Cravens was a law clerk on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit and an associate at Arnold & Porter LLP in Washington, D.C., where she specialized in products liability litigation.
Vacca is a professor of law and director of the school’s Center for Intellectual Property Law and Technology. He earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science/law, jurisprudence and social thought from Amherst College, his Juris Doctor from the University of Missouri-Columbia and his LL.M in intellectual property and trade regulation from the New York University School of Law.
He joined Akron Law in 2010. Prior to that, he taught at the University of Oregon’s School of Law and the University of Denver’s College of Law.
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