Four candidates for the dean of the School of Law — Oren Griffin, Emily Suski, Colin Crawford, and William Corbett — will hold open forums on Nov. 3, 13, 17 and 20, respectively. All open forums will be held at 2:30 p.m. in the E.J. Ball Courtroom in the School of Law.

During their presentation, each candidate will describe the University of Arkansas School of Law as they envision it in five years, including its public engagement and service to Arkansas, partnerships with business and industry, student outcomes and scholarly profile. Candidates will also speak to what may remain the same and what may change as part of their vision and identify the key leadership skills they will leverage to achieve it. Each presentation will be followed by a question-and-answer session.

The campus community will be able to attend the presentations in person or virtually. A recording after each open forum will also be available for those unable to attend. More information on how to attend virtually or view the recorded presentation will be provided on the School of Law dean search website and in Arkansas News.

About Oren Griffin

Presenting Nov. 3 at 2:30 p.m.

Griffin is a professor of law at The University of Tulsa College of Law. From 2022-2025, he served as the dean of the college and the Chapman Endowed Chair. His experience in higher education spans more than 20 years. Prior to his roles at The University of Tulsa College of Law, he served as a professor of law, associate dean for academic affairs and associate dean for strategic initiatives at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia. He has also served as a practicing attorney with large and midsize law firms.

Griffin's teaching and scholarship focuses on civil procedure, labor and employment law, and higher education law. His work has been published in law review and policy journals across the nation. He has authored the book Investigating College Student Misconduct, which was published by Johns Hopkins University Press and concentrates on legal issues affecting the investigation of student misconduct in higher education. He has several upcoming books slated to be published over the next year, which center on legal issues surrounding employment in higher education.

He holds a Juris Doctor from the Washington and Lee University School of Law in Lexington, Virginia. He also holds a doctorate from the University of Iowa, a master's degree from the University of Northern Iowa and a bachelor's degree from the Southern University at New Orleans. For more information on Griffin, view his curriculum vitae.

About Emily Suski

Presenting Nov. 13 at 2:30 p.m.

Suski is a professor of law and the associate dean for strategic and institutional priorities at the University of South Carolina Joseph F. Rice School of Law. She is the founding faculty director of the Carolina Health Advocacy Medicolegal Partnership (CHAMPS) and recently served as the associate dean for clinics and externships at the University of South Carolina. Prior to joining the University of South Carolina, Suski was a faculty member at Georgia State University College of Law and the University of Virginia School of Law.  In addition, she was a staff attorney for the JustChildren Program of the Legal Aid Justice Center in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Her teaching and areas of expertise include education, health and poverty law, and clinical legal education. Her scholarship explores issues at the intersection of education law and civil rights. She has been published in several journals, including the Stanford Law Review, Emory Law Journal, Iowa Law Review, Minnesota Law Review, California Law Review, UCLA Law Review and Clinical Law Review.

Suski holds a Master of Laws with honors from Georgetown University Law Center. She also holds a Juris Doctor, a Master of Social Work and Bachelor of Arts with distinction from the University of North Carolina. For more information on Suski, view her curriculum vitae.

About Colin Crawford

Presenting Nov. 17 at 2:30 p.m.

Crawford is the dean and a professor of law at the William H. Bowen School of Law at the University of Arkansas, Little Rock. Prior to his current role, he served as dean and a professor of law at Golden Gate University School of Law in San Francisco and the Louis D. Brandeis School of Law at the University of Louisville in Kentucky. Before becoming an academic administrator, Crawford held faculty positions at Tulane University and Georgia State University College of Law. During his time at Georgia State, he was a Fulbright Scholar at the Instituto Tecnologico de Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic and received a four-year grant from the U.S. Agency for International Development to improve the teaching of environmental law in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Crawford's teaching and scholarship focuses on real property law and land use and environmental law. He has taught and conducted research at many international universities, including the Carlos III University School of Law in Madrid, the Chuo University in Tokyo and the Institute for Applied Economics in Rio de Janeiro, among others. In addition, he has designed and directed many foreign study programs in Brazil, Cuba, Panama and Switzerland.

He holds a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School, a master's degree from Cambridge University and a bachelor's degree in history from Columbia University. For more information on Crawford, view his curriculum vitae.

About William Corbett

Presenting Nov. 20 at 2:30 p.m.

Corbett is a professor of law at the Paul M. Hebert Law Center of Louisiana State University (LSU Law), where he has been a faculty member for more than 34 years. He is also the executive director of the Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel, a position he has held since 2001. Throughout his time at LSU Law, he has served as interim vice chancellor, vice chancellor for academic and student affairs, interim co-dean and interim dean. In addition, Corbett served as a visiting faculty member at William & Mary and the University of Georgia. Prior to joining LSU Law, Corbett was a practicing attorney at Burr & Forman, in Birmingham, Alabama.

Corbett's teaching and scholarship focuses on labor and employment law and civil procedure. He was inducted as a fellow in the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers, and he has received awards from his students and the Louisiana Bar Foundation. He was also the 2024 recipient of the LSU Foundation Distinguished Faculty Teaching Award.

He holds a Juris Doctor from the University of Alabama School of Law, where he served as editor in chief of the Alabama Law Review. He also holds a bachelor's degree in education from Auburn University. For more information on Corbett, view his curriculum vitae.

The dean search for the School of Law is chaired by Dean of the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences Brian Raines.

"The search committee and I are pleased to introduce the four finalists for the dean of the School of Law," Raines said. "Each candidate brings a strong record of leadership and scholarly achievement in legal education, and the search committee is confident that any one of these finalists would continue the School of Law's legacy and contribute to its future success in support of the University of Arkansas' land-grant mission."

For more information on the dean candidates and the search process, please visit the School of Law dean search website.

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About the University of Arkansas: As Arkansas' flagship institution, the U of A provides an internationally competitive education in more than 200 academic programs. Founded in 1871, the U of A contributes more than $3 billion to Arkansas' economy through the teaching of new knowledge and skills, entrepreneurship and job development, discovery through research and creative activity while also providing training for professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the U of A among the few U.S. colleges and universities with the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the U of A among the top public universities in the nation. See how the U of A works to build a better world at Arkansas Research and Economic Development News.