Posted: April 28, 2025
Summary of Position
The University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School is one of the nation’s oldest and most distinguished law schools. The School offers a unique approach, incorporating cross-disciplinary legal education, a distinctly collaborative environment, and an innovative curriculum to enrich student learning. The small and highly interdisciplinary faculty achieves scholarly excellence while emphasizing a shared effort to advance understanding of the law. The result is an intellectual community that bridges traditional boundaries and disciplines within a renowned internal culture of collegiality, making the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School an extraordinarily supportive academic community for all its members.
The Assistant Dean for Graduate Programs (“Assistant Dean”) is the chief architect of strategies to ensure that international lawyers and scholars of the highest caliber join and participate actively in our LL.M., LL.C.M., and S.J.D. programs. The Assistant Dean serves as a key representative of these programs within the Penn Carey Law community, ensuring that students and their achievements are actively integrated into the broader life of the institution.
Working in close collaboration with the Dean and faculty, including the Deputy Dean for Global Engagement, the Assistant Dean articulates admissions strategies for the program and participates in the representation of Penn Carey Law to a host of partners and organizations world-wide. The Assistant Dean fosters the active engagement of these students in the supportive intellectual community at Penn Carey Law.
Additional Information
Reporting to the Associate Dean for Strategic Enrollment, the Assistant Dean manages a team of three full-time colleagues, a GSE intern, and a host of seasonal employees. Responsibilities include:
Strategic
- Articulate and implement a vision for existing and potential opportunities to recruit international law students at the highest level. Utilizing innovative approaches and strategic thinking in financial aid and matriculation strategies, build classes of deep academic quality and broad geographical diversity.
- Using a deep understanding of the marketplace and sound analysis of complex data, recommend to the Dean program goals and admissions targets.
- Design and manage the execution of a comprehensive recruitment strategy to achieve the Dean's and institution's admission objectives. Recommend program enhancements, both administrative and substantive, on an on-going basis.
LLM, LLCM and SJD Recruitment and Admissions
- Articulate a vision of existing and potential opportunities for the recruitment of LLM, LLCM, and SJD students at the highest level.
Recommend admissions targets; Design and manage the execution of a comprehensive recruitment strategy to achieve the Dean's and institution's admission objectives
- Collaborate with faculty, Communications, and other offices to ensure excellent communication about the program, its benefits, its students, and its alumni to internal, external, local, and national audiences.
- Leveraging Penn Carey Law’s strengths and resources in recruitment, financial aid, and matriculation strategies, develop LLM, LLCM, and SJD cohorts that demonstrate strong academic excellence. Oversee the review of applicants; render decisions; and admit and matriculate top students and accomplished professionals.
- Partner with leading institutions within and without the Penn community to attract and matriculate diverse and highly talented applicants.
Program Management
- Collaborate with faculty and colleagues to ensure a dynamic and comprehensive program for LL.M. and LL.C.M. students at Penn Carey Law, including a pre-semester orientation program and other innovative opportunities for students’ learning and inclusion in the Penn Carey Law community.
- In conjunction with the Associate Directors and with Penn Carey Law’s coordinated services in these areas (Academic Affairs, Student Affairs), counsel graduate students on academic and administrative matters.
Representational
- Represent the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School to a host of external and internal audiences; serve as a key public representative of the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, communicating the distinctive educational opportunities at the Law School not only to prospective students but to potential partners, alumni, and to national organizations such as the Law School Admissions Council.
- Represent Penn Carey Law to peer institutions and participate in collaborative programs with academic and other partners around the globe.
Foster and sustain strong relationships with Penn Carey Law’s international alumni and partner institutions, including Fulbright, other universities, law schools, and international bar associations; represent Penn Carey Law to these and other key internal and external stakeholders."
Managerial
- Provide leadership, guidance, and motivation to departmental colleagues, including two Associate Directors, a full-time Program Coordinator, and several seasonal employees.
- Oversee day-to-day management of the Graduate Programs’ Office.
- Recommend and oversee deployment of a budget for the program, including a financial aid budget for matriculating students.
- Develop ongoing reports and analysis on the program; make presentations to the Dean, faculty, Board of Overseers, and Board of Managers on these and other topics upon request.