Content: Editor’s note: The following message was shared by outgoing dean Rachel Rebouchè with alumni and friends of Temple Law School as she steps down from the deanship to join the faculty at University of Texas – Austin School of Law.
Dear Alumni and Friends,
As many of you may know, I will step down as Dean of Temple University Beasley School of Law at the end of the summer and join the faculty at the University of Texas at Austin this fall.
Although this was a challenging decision to make, I am excited and confident about the future because Temple Law is thriving. Our faculty, administration and staff have reached many milestones over the past several years. The law school celebrated an over 90% bar passage rate for first-time test takers, the highest in more than a decade, and the highest employment rates for new graduates two years in a row; we hired 16 new faculty members; and our development efforts have secured an endowed deanship and multiple new scholarships enabling Temple Law to attract the best and brightest students. These combined efforts have helped us as we welcome the highest credentialed class this fall in the history of Temple Law.
As the Provost’s Office leads a national search for my replacement, I am pleased to share that Kristen Murray, who currently serves as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Professor of Law, has been appointed Interim Dean effective September 1. As the national search moves forward, I am confident that Dean Murray’s extensive knowledge of the law school and strong commitment to research and education will build on Temple Law’s legacy and positive momentum while providing stability during a time of transition.
Dean Murray is well-known throughout the law school community for her thoughtfulness, innovation, and student-centered approach. As a leader and teacher, her decisions demonstrate an expert balance of best practices and on the ground experience. Her collaborative approach, strategic mindset, and deep understanding and care for the law school community will contribute to its continued success.
Dean Murray joined the law faculty in 2008 as an Associate Professor and was promoted to Professor of Law in 2015. Her research interests include education law and policy, inequality in the public education system, legal education and legal writing, and persuasion, and she has co-authored two significant legal writing textbooks. Dean Murray is the managing editor of Legal Communication & Rhetoric: The Journal of the Association of Legal Writing Directors and a member of the Board of Directors of the Legal Writing Institute. She teaches courses in Legal Research and Writing, Advanced Appellate Advocacy, Education Law, and International Dispute Resolution. Prior to her roles at Temple, she taught at the George Washington University Law School and at Georgetown University Law Center.
I am profoundly grateful for the support of the extraordinary faculty, alumni, staff, students, and friends of the law school whom I have had the privilege to know over the last decade and a half. It has been an honor of a lifetime to be Temple Law’s dean, and I will forever be Temple Proud.
Warmly,
Rachel Rebouché
Kean Family Dean
Peter J. Liacouras Professor of Law
