Stephen Ferruolo To Step Down After Nine Years As San Diego Dean

Dean Ferruolo’s Thank You Tour: Nine Years, Nine Cities:

After nine years as Dean of the University of San Diego School of Law, Stephen C. Ferruolo has announced his plans to step down as dean of the law school in the summer of 2020. Dean Ferruolo will continue his role as a tenured member of the law school faculty, concentrating on teaching, scholarship, and coaching the Transactional Law Team.

We are grateful for the leadership Dean Ferruolo has provided. Notable accomplishments of Dean Ferruolo’s tenure include development of the first-year Experiential Advocacy Practicum, a marked increase in external scholarship funding, expansion of the Legal Clinics (including the launch of the Veterans and Women’s Clinics and revamping the Entrepreneurship Clinic), growth of Academic Success and Bar Program resources, creation of the Washington D.C. Externship program, new exchange partnerships with top law schools around the world, collaborating on two new concurrent degree programs, and leading the Transactional Law Team to a national championship. As a practicing member of the State Bar of California, Dean Ferruolo has advanced USD Law’s relationships with and connections to the legal community and the judiciary.

Stephen is the longest serving dean in San Diego's history. He has been a leader among deans nationwide and in California, particularly in his work advocating for bar exam reform. A search committee has been established to conduct a nationwide search, co-chaired by Professor Michael Devitt.

• Dean Reacts to Scalia on Law School (June 5, 2014)
• California Law Deans Take Bar Exam Complaints To Lawmakers; State Bar Director Admits There Is 'No Good Answer' For High MBE Pass Score (Feb. 15, 2017)
• San Diego Dean: It Is Time To Rethink The California Bar Exam (May 21, 2017)
• Why Is It So Much Harder To Become A Lawyer In California Than In New York? (Dec. 1, 2018)
• California Needs A Task Force To Study The Bar Exam (May 30, 2019)