Dean of Student Affairs to Lead Northern Illinois University College of Law
February 17, 2009 — Jennifer L. Rosato, Senior Associate Dean for Student Affairs at the Earle Mack School of Law, has been appointed dean of the Northern Illinois University College of Law in DeKalb, Ill.
Rosato was a member of Earle Mack School of Law’s inaugural faculty and served as acting dean during the school’s first year of operation in 2006-07.
Before coming to Drexel, she was the Associate Dean for Student Affairs at Brooklyn Law School, where she also served as Co-Director of the Center for Health, Science and Public Policy and as professor of law.
An expert in family law, bioethics, health law, civil procedure and legal ethics, Rosato will be one of two Latina law school deans in the United States when she begins work at NIU on July 1.
Earle Mack School of Law Dean Roger Dennis said Drexel is deeply indebted to Rosato for her role in launching Drexel’s path-breaking new school.
“Although I am delighted for Jennifer, who very richly deserves this opportunity, it’s impossible not to feel envious that another law school will now become the beneficiary of her boundless energy, her profound interest in advancing legal education and her extraordinary accomplishments as a scholar,” Dennis said. “As acting dean, Jennifer channeled the energies and diverse ideas of the inaugural faculty into a unified vision for a school that aspired to redraw the map of legal education. Along the way, Jennifer fostered a spirit of community that included students, faculty and staff. She helped students launch an ambitious variety of organizations and extracurricular activities that could rival those of well established law schools. And she made it all look easy, because no one else was around at 11 p.m. to see that she was still in her office, with the light on.”
Rosato said the energy and enthusiasm she has felt at Earle Mack School of Law will stay with her in Illinois.
“Being part of Earle Mack School of Law from the very beginning has been an incredible journey,” she said. “The satisfaction I have experienced here as acting dean and associate dean inspired me to take the deanship at NIU law school. I will continue to be guided by the values of the Drexel community: commitment, engagement, creativity, and energy.”
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