Last modified: Monday, March 24, 2003
Robel named as new IUB School of Law dean
Lauren K. Robel has been named as the next dean of the IU School of Law at Bloomington, pending approval by the Board of Trustees. She will succeed Fred Aman, who was dean from 1991 to 2002.
Robel will be the 15th dean of the IU School of Law at Bloomington, which was founded in 1842. She will be the first woman to hold this position. In making the announcement, IU Bloomington Chancellor Sharon Stephens Brehm praised Robel for her exceptional contributions to the law school as both a scholar and an administrator.
"Professor Robel has been a superb faculty member and an excellent academic administrator. Her teaching is extraordinary, her scholarship innovative, and she is highly respected by both her students and her colleagues," Brehm said. "She has also been very effective as acting dean this year, in terms of both internal administration and reaching out to external constituencies. I'm delighted that she has agreed to serve as dean. I know that she will advance the academic mission of both the school and the university as a whole. We are very lucky to have her in this position."
Robel received her B.A. degree from Auburn University and her J.D. degree from Indiana University. Before coming back to her alma mater in 1985 as a faculty member, she served as a law clerk for the Honorable Jesse Eschbach of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. She was an associate dean from 1983-85, and is currently the Val Nolan Professor of Law.
Robel's research has focused on judicial federalism and the role of federal courts in supervision of state judicial administration. She has published numerous articles in leading law journals and spoken frequently on topics ranging from procedural reform to sovereign immunity. She also served as a visiting faculty member at Universite Panthenon-Assas (Paris II). Her recent book, Les Etats des Noirs: Federalisme et question raciale aux Etats-unis, was published by the Presses Universitaires de France (2000) with Professor Elisabeth Zoller, a frequent visitor to the IU Law School. Robel regularly teaches courses in civil procedure, federal jurisdiction and constitutional law.
Robel has been active in developing programs for students outside the traditional classroom setting, such as the Protective Order Project and the Appellate Colloquium. Because of her contributions, she has received the Law School's Gavel Award, the Wallace Teaching Award, the Leonard D. Fromm Public Service Award, the Indiana Bar Foundation's Pro Bono Publico Award and the Indiana State Bar Women and the Law Recognition Award. Robel serves as the reporter for the Rules Committee of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana and as a member of the Indiana Supreme Court Rules Committee.
"It is a real honor to be able to continue to serve the school as dean," Robel said. "I look forward especially to continuing to work with the outstanding faculty and students at the law school, and to the support of our wonderful alumni both in Indiana and around the world."
Robel will be formally recommended to the Board of Trustees at an upcoming meeting.
