IU Maurer dean search committee named

Indiana Justice Geoffrey Slaughter has been named to the search committee that will identify candidates vying to fill the dean position at the Indiana University Maurer School of Law. The university hopes to name a new dean by Oct. 1.

Austen Parrish, who has led the law school for more than eight years, will be stepping down June 30 to become dean of the University of California Irvine School of Law. Christiana Ochoa, executive associate dean at IU Maurer, will serve as interim dean starting July 1.

“The Maurer School of Law is as prestigious and successful as it is because of Austen’s leadership,” Rahul Shrivastav, IU Bloomington provost and executive vice president, said in a press release. “I have complete confidence that Christy’s deep understanding of the school and the future of legal education will seamlessly continue Austen’s legacy of success when she officially begins her work as interim dean.”

Kurt Zorn, Indiana University Bloomington acting vice provost for undergraduate education, has been named the chair of the law school’s search committee.

In addition to Slaughter, a 1989 cum laude graduate of IU Maurer, the other committee members include:

• Attorney Gregory A. Castanias of Jones Day in Washington, DC; Maurer school board of visitors and alumnus

• Susan David deMaine, Maurer School Director of Jerome Hall Law Library and senior lecturer
• Jessica M. Eaglin, Maurer School professor of law and Harry T. Ice faculty fellow
• Maurer law student Samantha Espada, president of the Latinx Law Student Association
• Laura Fonseca, Maurer School director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
• Sophia Goodman, Maurer School director of the Legal Research and Writing Program and senior lecturer in law
• Norman J. Hedges, Maurer School clinical professor of law and director of the Intellectual Property Legal Clinic
• Asaf Lubin, Maurer School Associate professor of law and fellow at IU Center for Applied Cybersecurity Research
• Steve Sanders, Maurer School professor of law and adjunct professor of political science
• Susan H. Williams, Maurer School Walter W. Foskett professor of law and director of the Center for Constitutional Democracy

Matt Waller, senior executive advisor to the Provost, will also serve as an ex officio, non-voting member of the committee.

Shrivastav has asked members of the search committee to reach out to students, faculty, staff, alumni, and the judiciary on recommendations for the position, with careful consideration to the primary needs of the school; areas of strength and potential growth; the virtues of continuity in leadership versus a fresh perspective; and the necessary characteristics of a dean who is suited to the current moment in legal education.