Faculty members, students and alumni of Georgetown Law Center are outraged at the University President’s decision to dismiss Law Center Dean Judith Areen, the first woman to head a national law school. Georgetown President Leo O’Donovan has not said why he sent a letter to students and faculty stating that he was searching for a replacement for Areen, who is serving her second term.
Areen is credited with “raising more money than any previous Georgetown law dean, recruiting distinguished faculty, expanding the school’s facilities and elevating its reputation,” according to a Washington Post article.
Two members of the law center’s advisory and fund-raising panel, attorney for President Clinton Robert S. Bennett and past president of the panel Paul C. Saunders, have resigned in protest of the decision.
“Judy is a magnificent dean, and her departure from that position will be devastating to the school,” wrote Bennett in his resignation letter.
The Washington Post reported that angry alumni have threatened to deny the law school almost $4 million dollars in promised financial support.
Ted Radway, a second-year law student, said “Most of us … are here to learn something about justice. … We just didn’t this is the kind of lesson we were going to be taught.”
