Academic Vice President John S. Tanner has announced the appointment of James R. Rasband as the new dean of the J. Reuben Clark Law School.
Rasband will replace James D. Gordon III, who has served as interim dean during the 2008-2009 school year after the appointment of former dean Kevin J Worthen as Advancement Vice President of Brigham Young University.
Rasband’s appointment will be effective June 15, 2009.
“Jim Rasband will be a superb dean,” said Tanner. “I have worked closely with Jim for two years. He has tremendous gifts of mind and heart, along with high standards, people skills, administrative experience, and a love for the Law School. I expect the School to flourish under his leadership.”
Vice President Tanner also announced the appointment of Craig H. Hart as associate academic vice president for faculty, replacing Rasband. Hart’s primary responsibility will be supervising faculty hiring, rank and status matters and faculty personnel issues, said Tanner. Dr. Hart’s appointment will be effective June 1, 2009.
“Craig Hart has an exemplary record in teaching, research, and service," said Tanner. "He has excelled in all three areas of faculty responsibility and will lead the faculty by example. I look forward to working with Craig.”
About James R. Rasband
A BYU alumnus, Rasband received his juris doctorate from Harvard University in 1989. He was a law clerk in the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals and an attorney for Perkins Coie before joining the faculty at the J. Reuben Clark Law School in 1995, where he is the Hugh W. Colton Professor of Law. He has served as associate dean for research and academic affairs since 2004.
His primary areas of expertise are public land law (including public lands legal history), water law, wilderness and grazing law, regulations covering the national park and national monuments and international environmental law.
He is a co-author, along with James Salzman at Duke University and Mark Squillace at the University of Colorado, of “Natural Resources Law and Policy,” a casebook that is used in law schools around the country.
About Craig H. Hart
A BYU alumnus, Hart received a Ph.D. from Purdue University in 1987. From 1998 to 2004 he served as chair of Marriage, Family and Human Development in BYU’s School of Family Life. Currently he serves as an associate dean in the College of Family, Home and Social Sciences.
His primary areas of expertise are family processes, parenting practices, and children’s social development in cultural context. He has authored and co-authored 50 scientific publications and book chapters.
He is a co-editor of Blackwell’s Handbook of Childhood Social Development, a comprehensive reference book about child development from pre-school age to adolescence.