John Siliciano, Gary Simson named associate deans at Cornell Law School

John Siliciano and Gary Simson, members of the Cornell Law School faculty, have been named to administrative posts within the school.

Siliciano, professor of law, has been named associate dean for academic affairs. Simson, professor of law, has been named to the new post of associate dean for faculty development. The appointments, effective July 1, were announced by Russell K. Osgood, the Allan R. Tessler Dean of the Cornell Law School.

Siliciano will succeed Robert Hillman, who has served as associate dean since January 1990. Hillman will return full time to the faculty, where he is the Edwin H. Woodruff Professor of Law.

As associate dean for academic affairs, Siliciano will oversee the school's curriculum, make personnel decisions regarding adjunct faculty and head the school in the dean's absence.

Siliciano joined the Cornell Law School faculty in 1984, after a variety of legal posts, including service as a law clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Thurgood Marshall (1980-81). At Cornell he has served on various committees and boards, including as chair of the University Review Board and as a member of the Academic Freedom and Standards Committee. In 1992, at the request of the university administration, Siliciano conducted an extensive review of undergraduate drinking at Cornell. His report led to a number of key changes, including tougher penalties for students who illegally possess alcohol.

Siliciano earned a bachelor's degree from Cornell (1975), a master's of public administration from Princeton University (1979) and a juris doctorate from Columbia University (1979). He was editor-in-chief of the Columbia Law Review.

As associate dean of faculty development, Simson will be responsible for coordinating the mentoring of new and untenured faculty and will assist the Faculty Appointments Committee in its efforts to identify, hire and retain a diverse group of visiting and regular faculty. Simson also will advise the dean on issues regarding faculty-student relations.

"This is a position that has been created at most of our peer schools, in part, because of the increased attention to teacher training by the American Association of Law Schools," Osgood said. "We have always done a good job in this area, but with this appointment we are providing greater recognition and support for this effort."

Simson earned a bachelor's degree and juris doctorate from Yale University (1971, 1974). He joined the Cornell Law School faculty in 1980, after serving as a clerk to Judge Joseph Smith in the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (1974-75), teaching at the University of Texas School of Law (1975-79) and serving as a visiting professor at Cornell (1979-80). Aside from his Cornell Law School commitments, which in

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