| Message | SAN DIEGO (September 13, 2011)—University of San Diego (USD) School of Law Dean Stephen Ferruolo announced today that Mary Jo Wiggins has been appointed vice dean of academic affairs. Dean Wiggins has served as associate dean of academic affairs since July 2006. As vice dean, her role will be focused on academic planning and faculty development efforts at the law school. Dean Wiggins’ promotion was effective September 1.
“Mary Jo has been a leader in the significant improvements made to the academic programs at the School of Law in recent years,” said Dean Ferruolo. “As vice dean, Mary Jo will play a very important role in continuing to strengthen these programs and developing a strategic plan for the School of Law.”
A favorite of USD law students, Dean Wiggins will continue teaching classes in property, bankruptcy, debtor-creditor law and legal theory at the law school. Her new role as vice dean gives her an opportunity to fully explore the crossroads of faculty and student needs in today’s legal education environment.
”I am pleased to accept this new challenge,” said Dean Wiggins. “As vice dean, my role is to leverage the experience I’ve gained over the past five years to help create an academic climate where faculty are even more productive and students are better prepared for the legal profession. These new responsibilities will necessitate a shift of some administrative matters to other deans, in whom Stephen and I have complete confidence.”
About Mary Jo Wiggins
Professor Wiggins was notes editor of the Michigan Law Review and practiced law in Indianapolis before joining the faculty in 1990. She writes and teaches in the areas of property, bankruptcy, debtor-creditor law and legal theory. She is the author of numerous publications on these topics and she is an elected member of the American Law Institute. Among her many articles are "Conservative Economics and Optimal Consumer Bankruptcy Policy," Theoretical Inquiries and "Race, Class, and Suburbia: The Modern Black Suburb as a Race-Making Situation," The University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform. Professor Wiggins frequently consults with private and public entities on bankruptcy and insolvency matters. In 2006 and 2007, she served as an expert consultant for the RAND Corporation involving the operation of the U.S. bankruptcy system. In 1998, Professor Wiggins was appointed by then United States Supreme Court Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist to the United States Judicial Conference Advisory Committee on the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure where she served two consecutive terms. Professor Wiggins is a contributing author to Collier on Bankruptcy, the leading scholarly treatise in the field. In 2007, Professor Wiggins was named one of San Diego's Top Attorneys. During the 2009-2010 academic year, Professor Wiggins was the Class of 1975 Endowed Professor, an award recognizing meritorious teaching, leadership, and academic accomplishments as a professor in the School of Law.
About the University of San Diego School of Law
The University of San Diego School of Law is a center of academic excellence focused on preparing its students for legal practice in the new century. One of the most selective law schools in the country, the School of Law’s nationally recognized faculty create a demanding, yet welcoming environment that emphasizes individualized education. USD law school graduates consistently score higher than the state average on the California Bar Exam and go on to practice law throughout the country and abroad, forming an influential network of alumni. The USD School of Law is one of only 81 law schools in the country to have a chapter of the Order of the Coif, the most distinguished rank of American law schools. The school is accredited by the American Bar Association and is a member of the Association of American Law Schools. Founded in 1954, the law school is part of the University of San Diego, a private, nonprofit, independent, Roman Catholic university chartered in 1949. |
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