New FSU College of Law Dean

http://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/2016/05/31/vanderbilt-legal-scholar-named-dean-fsus-college-law/85205338/


Erin O’Hara O’Connor, a professor and administrator at Vanderbilt, has been named dean of FSU’s College of Law.

"O’Connor will be the college’s eighth dean, succeeding Don Weidner, who will retire as dean in June after serving for more than 20 years. Weidner will continue to be a member of the full-time faculty.
O’Connor, the Milton R. Underwood Professor of Law and director of graduate studies for the doctoral program in law and economics at Vanderbilt’s Law School, said she was excited to join FSU’s prolific and highly engaged scholarly community.
“FSU’s law school has incredibly strong fundamentals, including a top 25 law school faculty, an energetic, national award-winning student body, a hard-working and creative staff, and one of the nation’s most dedicated and generous alumni communities,” she said. “I am deeply honored to have the opportunity to help lead this impressive institution.”
Vanderbilt Law School’s site notes O’Connor’s recent work includes four books and a series of significant articles on choice of law, as well as articles that explore contractual dispute resolution, including arbitration. It lists her as chair-elect of Vanderbilt’s Faculty Senate.
Since joining Vanderbilt’s law faculty in 2001, O’Connor served as director of the Law and Human Behavior Program, 2007 to 2010; associate dean for academic affairs, 2008 to 2010; and FedEx Professor of Law, 2010 to 2011.
Prior to Vanderbilt, O’Connor held faculty positions at the Northwestern University School of Law, Georgetown University Law Center, of which she's a graduate, George Mason University School of Law, Clemson University and University of Chicago Law School.

"O’Connor, a native of Buffalo, N.Y., earned a bachelor of arts in economics and political science from the University of Rochester in 1987, where she received the John H. Berman Memorial Award for an outstanding pre-law major. She earned her law degree, magna cum laude, from the Georgetown University Law Center in 1990, where she served as senior board member of the Georgetown Law Journal.

"Weidner, the college’s Alumni Centennial Professor and a recognized authority on partnerships, fiduciary duties and real estate finance, served as dean from 1991 to 1997, interim dean from 1998 to 2000 and as dean from 2000 to the present. He joined the college’s faculty in 1976.
Under his direction, the law school rose to the top tier of U.S. law schools and was consistently recognized as one of the nation’s best in terms of job placement.
In 2011, Weidner was named among the Nine Transformative Law Deans of the Last Decade by influential legal blogger and University of Chicago Law School Professor Brian Leiter.
The Florida State University College of Law was authorized by statute in 1965 and enrolled its first students in fall 1966."

http://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/2016/06/02/new-famu-fsu-engineering-dean-sees-strength-joint-college/85303894/

"J. Murray Gibson, who was named dean of the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering Wednesday, was one of 11 finalists for Florida State’s presidency in the fall of the 2014.
That position eventually went to John Thrasher.
Now, Gibson returns to Tallahassee and to Innovation Park as dean of the joint-college where he will have a faculty appointment as a professor of mechanical engineering at FAMU.

The committee was very impressed with his extensive track record on diversity and his strong commitment to advancing the education of minority engineers,” Edington said.
As a researcher in higher education, Gibson has secured research funding in excess of $100 million as a principal investigator.
A five-time patent holder, Gibson’s extensive leadership experience includes formerly directing a billion-dollar, globally recognized scientific user facility at Argonne National Laboratory, which produced two Nobel prizes.
Gibson also worked for 11 years at the AT&T Bell Laboratories in Murray Hill, N.J. At Bell, Gibson pioneered the use of advanced electron microscopy techniques to understand the structure/property relationships of semiconductor nanostructures.
He also received the AT&T Area Wide Affirmative Action award for his success in the career development of African-American scientists.
Gibson has published more than 200 technical papers that together have received more than 17,000 citations. He is a fellow of several professional societies, including the American Physical Society and the Royal Microscopical Society.
Away from his research and teaching, Gibson enjoys playing the piano and has lectured on the connection between physics and “the Blues,” the Northeastern site says.
“Dr. Gibson is an accomplished scientist with a track record of success in higher education administration and the leadership skills to enhance the College of Engineering in every area, from teaching and research to fundraising and enrollment,” McRorie said."