DiPippa Announces Plan to Return to Classroom

Dean John DiPippa of the UALR William H. Bowen School of Law today announced plans to step down and return to the classroom effective June 30, 2012.

DiPippa will resume full-time teaching beginning with the Fall 2012 semester. Among his plans are working on a textbook on the law and public service and revising The Counselor-at-Law: A Collaborative Approach to Client Interviewing and Counseling. In addition, he will work closely with the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service to develop further the Juris Doctor/Master of Public Service concurrent degree program.

During his three-and-a-half-year tenure, DiPippa led the school through a successful reaccreditation process with the American Bar Association, raising a total of $3.3 million in current and future funding commitments, and revitalizing the Bowen Alumni Association.

“I am particularly proud of the things we have achieved at Bowen during my tenure as dean,” DiPippa said. “We added concurrent degree programs with the College of Business and the UAMS School of Public Health, bringing to seven the number of partnered-degree programs Bowen offers. We’ve endowed numerous scholarships and increased alumni involvement significantly.”

DiPippa listed other milestones achieved during his tenure as dean:

  • Instituted an annual Alumni Scholarship Luncheon
  • Adopted a comprehensive and cutting edge set of core competencies for our graduates – focused on the knowledge, skills, and values necessary to practice law
  • Raised admission standards three years in a row
  • Executed a highly successful and nationally renowned Altheimer Symposium on public service
  • Hired experienced fundraising and communications people and developed effective fundraising and communications plans
  • Renovated the student lounge, Friday Courtroom and faculty library, focusing on the latest technology to improve learning
  • Increased faculty budgets for research assistants, travel and conference presentations and teaching incentives, and increased summer stipends
  • Increased the number of faculty administrative assistants
  • Named Annabelle Imber Tuck as Bowen’s first Jurist-in-Residence/Public Service Fellow
  • Started two successful programs bringing students in contact with lawyers and judges in informal settings
  • Hired two experienced professors in the nationally ranked Bowen Legal Writing Program

Interim Provost Sandra Robertson will consult with Chancellor Joel E. Anderson and the faculty of the law school to begin the process for finding the next dean. The university will conduct a national search to replace DiPippa.

“I know that Bowen will continue to be a place for students to come for access to a high-quality legal education and unique opportunities in Arkansas’ capital city – at a reasonable cost,” DiPippa said. “Our faculty and staff will continue to make sure that students learn professionalism and the value of public service, and the school will continue to provide access to justice for all members of the community well into the future.”

Student Announcement Video

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