Mark C. Alexander — a seasoned law school administrator, scholar and litigator — has been named the Arthur J. Kania Dean of the Charles Widger School of Law at Villanova University.
Alexander, 51, who is currently associate dean for academics at the Seton Hall University School of Law and a member of its faculty, now joins a growing number of African-Americans who have been appointed as law school deans in recent years.
He will begin his post on July 1.
An expert on the First Amendment, Alexander served as a senior adviser to President’s Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign, and even ran — unsuccessfully — for the New Jersey Senate in 2013.
But it’s his scholarship on issues ranging from constitutional to election law and the intersection of law and politics that caught the attention of administrators and the faculty at the law school located in the suburbs of Philadelphia.
“Mark Alexander brings tremendous academic and practical skills to his new role as dean,” said Villanova president, the Rev. Peter M. Donohue. “Our search centered on finding an individual who understands the changing landscape of the legal industry believes in the values of Villanova’s Augustinian Catholic tradition and has the breadth of experience to sustain and build upon the Law School’s forward momentum.”
As dean, Alexander will serve as chief administrator of the faculty and manage an annual budget of more than $24 million. He will replace John Yukio Gotanda, who was named president of Hawaii Pacific University in February.
