The top administrators of two historically Black law schools, who were new to academia when they began, stepped down over the summer, just prior to the start of the 2012-2013 academic year.
Kurt Schmoke, a former Baltimore mayor who led the Howard University School of Law since 2003, left his post to become vice president and general counsel of the university, replacing Norma Leftwich. Okianer Christian Dark was named interim dean of Howard’s School of Law. Since 2005, Dark has served as the law school’s associate dean for academic affairs.
“It is a real honor to be named interim dean of the Howard University law school,” Dark said. “I am mindful of the awesome responsibility that comes with heading a school with such a rich legacy of teaching and involvement in civil rights and justice.”
Dark is co-founder of the school’s Fair Housing Clinic, which trains law students as fair housing advocates and practitioners. Before joining the Howard law faculty, Dark was a professor at T.C. Williams School of Law at the University of Richmond, where she became the first African-American tenured at the law school and at the university. She specializes in and teaches courses on torts, product liability, advanced torts and health law.
Other Transitions
Raymond Pierce was a thriving attorney in private practice when he was tapped in 2005 to serve as dean of the North Carolina Central University School of Law. In July, after nearly seven years in academia, Pierce returned to private law practice in the business and government relations divisions of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP—a Raleigh, N.C., firm led by former U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley. Phyliss Craig-Taylor, who was the associate dean of the Charlotte School of Law, replaced Pierce as NCCU’s law dean.
Craig-Taylor’s new appointment brings her back to NCCU’s School of Law where she was a professor from 2000 to 2006. She has more than 22 years of experience in legal education and administration. Craig-Taylor, whose areas of teaching include property and real estate finance, is writing a book titled Open Door Days on the Last Plantation: An Analysis of Property Loss, Race and Citizenship. She was responsible for the establishment of a bar preparation program that increased the bar passage rate for targeted groups from 30 percent to 100 percent.
