[December 12, 2012]

Rachel Van Cleave Named New Dean of Golden Gate University School of Law

After a national search, Golden Gate University President Dan Angel is proud to announce the appointment of Rachel Van Cleave, Interim Dean, as the new Dean of Golden Gate University School of Law. A Fulbright Scholar, GGU Law Professor since 2004 and Associate Dean of Academic Affairs since 2008, Van Cleave brings extensive experience as an international scholar, professor and law school leader to her new role.

"We are delighted to have Rachel join us as our Law School Dean" says president Angel. "After eight years with Golden Gate University School of Law and serving this semester as our Interim Dean, Rachel understands the job at hand, and is the right person to lead the law school to a level of new distinction."

Dean Van Cleave earned her BS at Stanford and JD at UC Hastings College of the Law. She clerked at Baker and McKenzie and after graduation served as a federal clerk for Fifth Circuit Judge Sam Johnson. In addition to early roles as a legal research and writing instructor at Santa Clara and a Teaching Fellow at Stanford Law School, where she also earned her JSM, Van Cleave was a Visiting Professor of Law at the University of Richmond School of Law and UC Hastings College of the Law.

"I am honored to be entrusted with this leadership role at a time when legal education faces great challenges. I look forward to working with the GGU Law community to build professional ntworks that enhance our students' success. In addition to implementing curricular changes, we are investing considerable time and energy in developing how best to align the legal education we provide with the needs of the dynamic legal profession," Van Cleave said of her appointment.

In 1995, Van Cleave received a Fulbright Fellowship to conduct research at the Italian Constitutional Court on changes to the Italian criminal justice system, and later returned to Italy to research reforms in Italian rape law. She has published 15 law review articles and four book chapters. In addition to her scholarly acumen, Van Cleave has spearheaded recent curricular reforms to provide GGU Law students with even more skills training.

Specifically, in addition to teaching core courses, Van Cleave has designed and taught original seminars that integrate research and writing with real world problems-courses like her Katrina and Disaster Law Seminar. Teaching in GGU Law's unique Law and Leadership program, she has helped law students to develop and exhibit leadership through meaningful projects. Her leadership on assessment of both core curricula and newly designed experiential courses has been critical to ensuring GGU Law students benefit from cutting edge pedagogy without compromising academic rigor.

"Rachel is just the type of leader GGU Law needs in these challenging times for legal academia," says Eric Christiansen, Professor of Law & Faculty Chair. "With her wealth of experience in legal education and her impressive accomplishments as a scholar, teacher, and senior administrator, Rachel has the trust and confidence of the faculty and staff of the law school. We expect great things for the law school under Dean Van Cleave's guidance."

About Golden Gate University

Golden Gate University (GGU), private and nonprofit, has been helping adults achieve their professional goals by providing undergraduate and graduate education in Accounting, Law, Taxation, Business and related areas for more than 110 years. GGU is California's fifth-largest private university, enrolls more than 5,000 students annually and has more than 68,000 alumni. The school's main campus is located in San Francisco with additional teaching sites in Seattle and Los Angeles.

Founded in 1901, Golden Gate University School of Law offers a variety of programs for beginning law students and practicing lawyers. GGU Law is fully accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA) and the Committee of Bar Examiners of the State of California and is a member in good standing of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS). Golden Gate University is fully accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC).

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