FINDING SILVER LININGS: INTERIM DEAN MELANIE B. JACOBS LEADS MSU LAW THROUGH CHALLENGING TIMES Melanie B. Jacobs started her tenure as interim dean of Michigan State University College of Law by hosting a coffee station for students in the lobby of the Law College on January 8, 2020. As students, fresh from the holiday break and ready to start their new classes, poured in the glass doors, Dean Jacobs and Associate Dean Jennifer Carter-Johnson greeted them with caffeine, muffins, fresh fruit, and warm words of encouragement for the semester ahead. She knew some of them from her classes (Trusts and Estates and her Assisted Reproductive Technologies seminar); others were meeting their new dean for the first time as they crowded in to grab a snack and head to class. The easy camaraderie of that morning feels like a decade ago. Two short months later, the COVID-19 pandemic would empty the Law College building as Michigan State University announced its immediate move to fully remote instruction. Weeks turned into a semester, then another, then a full academic year.
Dean Jacobs is a strong advocate for MSU Law alumni and her dedication to MSU Law’s core values during these challenging times has been monumental. On behalf of all alumni, I want to say thank you for your leadership and, most importantly, friendship to our community. — Christopher Jackson, ’13 President, MSU College of Law Alumni Association
Events were canceled, and Dean Jacobs’ priorities abruptly shifted to coordinating online finals, distributing CARES Act funding to students overwhelmed with unexpected financial crises, hosting SBA town hall meetings on Zoom, and advocating on behalf of recent law grads for fair treatment on the summer 2020 nationwide bar examinations. Dean Jacobs’ leadership has seen the College of Law through dark, even unprecedented, days. Students, faculty, and staff members have fallen ill with COVID-19 and navigated the challenges of learning and working remotely. The MSU Law community grappled with waves of social unrest: the death of George Floyd and subsequent summer of protests; the deepening of partisan political divides; the Capitol riots in January that fizzled into a state of conflict and anxiety. Dean Jacobs addressed each crisis with characteristic empathy while navigating the year’s impact on her own life, from managing her cancer diagnosis and treatment to supporting her son, Jacob, through distanced learning. 13
