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Faculty & Staff Notes
Faculty & Staff Notes News about Law School Hires and Moves
Faculty Departures
Ralph Hall, professor of practice, is retiring at the end of the academic year. Hall concentrated his teaching, research, and writing in the area of FDA regulation and health care.
Heidi Kitrosser, Robins Kaplan Professor of Law, is departing the Law School at the end of the academic year to serve as a professor at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law. Kitrosser, who joined the faculty in 2006, focuses on the constitutional law of federal government secrecy and on separation of powers, as well as free speech law more broadly.
Alexandra Klass, Distinguished McKnight University Professor, has left the Law School to join the Biden-Harris Administration as Deputy General Counsel for Litigation, Regulation, and Enforcement at the U.S. Department of Energy. Klass, who joined the Law School in 2006, teaches and writes in the areas of energy law, environmental law, and natural resources law. Following the conclusion of her public service, she will join the faculty at the University of Michigan Law School.
Jon J. Lee, professor of practice, is departing the Law School at the end of the academic year to serve as an associate professor at the University of Oklahoma College of Law. Lee, who joined the Law School in 2017, has research interests that include professional ethics and trademark law.
Maria Ponomarenko, associate professor of law, is leaving the Law School to serve on the faculty of the University of Texas School of Law. Ponomarenko, who joined the Law School in 2019, focuses her work on policing agencies and administrative agencies.
Benjamin Casper Sanchez ’97, associate clinical professor of law, is departing the Law School this summer. Sanchez, who joined the faculty in 2013, served as faculty director of the James H. Binger Center for New Americans and taught the Federal Immigration Litigation Clinic.
Francis Shen, professor of law and McKnight Presidential Fellow, is leaving the Law School at the end of the academic to join the faculty of Harvard Medical School/ Massachusetts General Hospital and become an affiliate professor at Harvard Law School. Shen, who joined the Law School in 2012, conducts empirical and interdisciplinary research at the intersection of law and the brain sciences.
Christopher Soper, clinical professor of law and director of legal writing, is departing the Law School this summer. Soper, who joined the faculty in 2014, helped enhance the reputation of the Law School’s award-winning legal writing and moot court programs.
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Staff Arrivals
Elizabeth Beghelli returned to the Law School as director of Alumni Relations and Annual Giving. Beghelli previously served as a major gifts officer for the American Red Cross. Prior to joining the Red Cross, she worked at the Law School for four years, first as class giving officer and then as assistant director of annual giving.
Rob Borchardt joined the Law School Career Center as assistant director, Employer Relations. Borchardt previously served as director of student life and career services at Dunwoody College of Technology, where he chaired the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee.
Katie Jacob joined the Law School as assistant director of annual giving. Jacob previously served as donor relations and communications specialist at Regions Hospital Foundation.
Abby Mengelkoch joined the Law School as alumni relations and annual giving associate. Mengelkoch was previously research operations coordinator at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health.
Jay Wong joined the Law School as director of student affairs. Wong holds both a J.D. and an M.Ed in counselor education with an emphasis in student affairs. Most recently, he served as a Hennepin County public defender, representing adult and juvenile defendants.
Staff Promotions
Amanda Furst, chief of staff at the Law School, was promoted to assistant dean. Furst served as the Law School’s chief of staff for three years and before that was director of public interest programs. She joined the Law School in 2012. Robin Ingli was promoted to assistant dean of admissions at the Law School. Ingli previously served as director of admissions for six years after starting at the Law School in 2015 as an admissions consultant.
Wendy Griak was promoted to assistant director of counseling initiatives in the Law School’s Career Center. Griak previously served as career counselor and programming initiatives coordinator for about three years after starting at the Law School in 2018 as a career counselor.
Claudia Melo was promoted to assistant dean of the Career Center at the Law School. Melo previously served as the director of the center for six years. Melo joined the Law School in 2012 as associate director of the Career Center.
Staff Departures
Emily Buchholz ’10, executive director of the Corporate Institute, left the Law School to become the director of the Law & Entrepreneur- ship Clinic at the University of Wisconsin Law School. Buccholz joined the Law School in 2018, and also served as a lecturer in law and led the Business Law Clinic.
Elissa Chaffee, director of alumni relations and annual giving, left the Law School in February to become director of development for Every Meal, a Minnesota-based nonprofit focusing on child hunger and food insecurity. Chafee joined the Law School in 2017.
Deepinder Mayell, executive director of the James H. Binger Center for New Americans as well as director of the center’s education and outreach program, left the Law School in April to become executive director of the ACLU of Minnesota. Mayell, who joined the Law School in 2016, also served as a lecturer in law.
CLASS OF 1979 SCHOLARSHIP
In 2009, when the Law School Class of 1979 came together for their 40th class reunion, they cemented a legacy of generosity by establishing the Class of 1979 Scholarship. Since then, their scholarship has helped six students attain J.D. degrees from the University of Minnesota Law School.
The most recent Class of 1979 Scholarship recipient is Ben Cooper, 3L. Ben recently shared how philanthropy has made a big difference in his law school career. He explains, “Scholarship support was a significant factor in my decision about where to attend law school. Every dollar of a scholarship means I need to take out less money in loans. It allows me to make career decisions that are right for me without worrying as much about finances. Also, I know that many scholarships are funded through donations, so scholarship support serves as [an important] proxy for how engaged the law school’s alumni and donor community is.”
—Ben Cooper, 3L
To learn more about the different ways you can support students like Ben, contact Katie Jacob, assistant director of annual giving at kldjacob@umn.edu or 612-624-0097.
