Law Dean Announces '07 Departure
April 25, 2006
Contact: University Relations
Phone: 410.837.5739
University of Baltimore School of Law Dean Gilbert Holmes announced today that he will leave the deanship in June 2007. Following a yearlong sabbatical, he will remain as a full professor on the law school faculty, teaching family law, contracts and property law while pursuing new interests that he hopes will keep him in the Baltimore area.
Saying that he has accomplished much of what he set out to do when he arrived at the School of Law roughly five years ago—including the expansion of the school’s various centers, where students receive real-world experiences in matters as disparate as litigation skills, family law and international law—Holmes announced that he would step down at the end of the next academic year to pursue new challenges. He said he decided to share his plans now to ensure an orderly transition to new leadership.
“I want to continue to support the institution in every way,” Holmes said. “That includes the way in which I leave for other opportunities.”
He added that he plans to stay in Baltimore.
Holmes noted the achievements of which he is most proud as dean:
• the development and expansion of the centers, including the Center for Families, Children and the Courts; the Stephen L. Snyder Center for Litigation Skills; and the Center for International and Comparative Law
• the enhancement of the student experience via programs designed to attract a diverse qualified student body, e.g., the Dean’s Scholars Program and the Baltimore Scholars Program; expanded educational opportunities, e.g., the combined torts/legal writing program, the Immigrant Rights Project and a Family Mediation Clinic within the clinical education program as well as the inclusion of student fellows in each of the centers; new and enhanced efforts to encourage students to pass the bar exam; and the development of public interest lawyers, by way of public interest stipends through the UBSPI auction and other activities, and the creation of a Public Interest Fellowship in conjunction with the Legal Aid Bureau and the Office of the Public Defender, as well as the Loan Repayment Assistance Program
• doubling the number of minority faculty
• successfully managing the law school during the fiscal reductions of 2002-03
• the renovation of various classrooms and offices, as well as the recently remodeled Venable Baetjer Howard Moot Court Room
• increased emphasis on alumni relations, resulting in a significant rise in new gifts and pledges.
UB President Robert L. Bogomolny praised Holmes’ service to the school and the University, citing Holmes’ improvement of both the school’s academic offerings and its reputation during a period of budget uncertainties and intense competition for good students and teachers.
“He was given a considerable task at a time when law schools everywhere were transforming how they educate young lawyers,” Bogomolny said. “Gil served the school and UB quite well, and I am pleased that he is staying on while we begin the task of finding new leadership. Everyone here wishes him the best.”
Holmes previously served on the faculty of the Texas Wesleyan University School of Law, where he was associate dean for academic affairs and budget (1999-2001). He also was a faculty member at Southern Methodist Law School and Seton Hall University Law School. His career in legal education followed 16 years in private practice in New York City.
Last April, Holmes received the first annual Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Black Law Students Association.
The University of Baltimore is a member of the University System of Maryland and comprises the School of Law, the Yale Gordon College of Liberal Arts and the Merrick School of Business.