Melanie D. Wilson, professor of law, associate dean for academic affairs, and director of diversity and inclusion at the University of Kansas School of Law, will be the new dean of the UT College of Law.
Wilson will begin on July 1, 2015.
“Melanie Wilson brings a wide range of leadership experience and legal scholarship,” said UT Provost Susan Martin. “She will help build upon the many strengths of the college.”
Wilson replaces Doug Blaze, who announced his decision earlier this year to step down from the dean’s position and return to full-time teaching.
“I am honored to join the University of Tennessee as the next dean of the College of Law,” Wilson said. “Dean Blaze, the faculty, staff, alumni, and campus leadership have positioned the college to continue its storied tradition of producing capable and ethical lawyers and leaders. I am committed to working tirelessly to further advance this mission.”
Before entering academia, Wilson clerked for a federal district court judge and enjoyed thirteen years of sophisticated law practice in both the private and public sectors, including six years as an assistant United States attorney and four years as an assistant attorney general for the state of Georgia.
As an academic, Wilson has demonstrated an enthusiasm for both teaching and scholarship. In 2011, she received a faculty award for outstanding teaching. She also co-authored three books on criminal procedure and has published more than a dozen articles and essays addressing the Fourth and Sixth Amendments as well as prosecutorial ethics.
Wilson earned her law degree, magna cum laude and Order of the Coif, from the University of Georgia School of Law. She has a bachelor’s degree in journalism with a minor in business, also from the University of Georgia.
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CONTACT:
Whitney Heins (865-974-5460, wheins@utk.edu)
Charles Primm (865-974-5180, primmc@utk.edu)
Roger Hagy, College of Law (865-974-6788, rhagy1@utk.edu)