by Gloria Diaz
Managing Editor
Donald J. Dunn was recently appointed dean of the University of La Verne College of Law to assist in the school’s effort in gaining American Bar Association accreditation.
He will take over June 1.
Dunn was appointed after the law school’s previous dean, Kenneth Held, stepped down May 2002 to resume the role of professor for the law school.
After Held’s resignation, a search committee was formed to fill the position.
The search committee included Interim College of Law Dean Randall Rubin, law school faculty members Juanda Daniel and John Hultman, College of Arts and Sciences Dean John Gingrich, Assistant Dean of Admissions Alexis Boles of the College of Law, President of the Law Alumni Association Michael Flippin and President of the Student Bar Association Jennifer Axlerod.
As dean, Dunn will serve as the principle administrator for the law school. He will oversee the school’s academic quality and make sure the school is making adequate progress.
His main goal is to gain ABA accreditation for the College of Law since the 2001 application failed, he said. The school will reapply for ABA approval this fall.
“(Held) recognized that the (accreditation) process was tough, and it would be better off with a person that had experience with schools looking for accreditation,” said Randall Rubin, interim dean of the ULV College of Law.
For the past five years, Dunn has been the associate dean for library and information resources and professor of law at Western New England College School of Law in Springfield, Mass.
Dunn’s significant experience with the ABA accreditation process made him stand out among other applicants, said Gingrich.
He has been a member of more than 40 accreditation site evaluation teams, placing him among the top five evaluators in the United States.
Dunn was also involved in Western New England College of Law’s ABA accreditation, which he earned in 1973.
He has also held positions at the University of Texas at Austin and Tarlton Law Library.
In 2002, he co-authored the leading text in the field of legal research, titled Fundamentals of Legal Research, eighth edition.
Dunn earned his doctorate in 1983 from Western New England College of Law.
In 1972 he received his master’s of library science and his bachelors in 1969 from the University of Texas.
Before taking over as dean, Dunn plans to make several trips to the law school.
“I want to get to know as many people as I can. After all, they are the people I am going to be working with,” Dunn said.
In 2002, 62 percent of the law school’s students passed the California bar exam.
“The school only has 13 to 14 students taking the bar; one person’s bad day can hurt the rest of the percentages,” Rubin said. “The statistics will be noticed by the ABA.”
Rubin added that he would like to see the passing rate rise above 50 percent for the coming year.
