SCHOLARSHIP & RESEARCH

CHANGING OF THE GUARD

After three years of exceptional service as Vice Dean for Faculty and Academic Affairs, Professor Franita Tolson has returned to teaching and research on a full-time basis. As Vice Dean, Tolson “led with both impeccable judgement and deep compassion for every member of our community” while also helping the law school navigate the pandemic, notes Dean Andrew Guzman. In July, Professor Thomas Lyon stepped in to take on this important leadership role.

Tolson and Lyon share their thoughts, reflecting on the past three years and goals for the future.

FRANITA TOLSON

What was the most challenging part of the role amid the pandemic?

It was the high degree of uncertainty. No one knew the extent to which COVID would disrupt society, we just knew that it would be a disruption and it was difficult trying to plan for every contingency. Looking back, I am proud of what we did … we managed to deliver a world-class legal education and build community without sacrificing safety.

What accomplishment are you proudest of as vice dean?

The first is the Race, Racism and the Law requirement that the faculty adopted last year. As vice dean, I was responsible for overseeing the curriculum, and I also served as co-chair of the committee that recommended it be a required course to graduate. In those dual roles, I was able to advocate for this requirement along with a number of my colleagues (including committee co-chair Professor Ariela Gross). Second, I am proud of the Visiting Assistant Professor program we started at the law school this year, which will help us serve as a pipeline for prospective law professors, many of whom are from historically underrepresented groups.

What was the most rewarding part?

The best part of being vice dean was the relationships that I built with my colleagues, various staff members, and many of our students. At a very basic level, the job of the vice dean is to be of service to others. That is the job. It is unsurprising that one leaves the vice dean position having stronger relationships with so many of the people who make Gould a great place to work. It was a privilege to serve in the role, and I am honored that my colleagues trusted me with the responsibility.

THOMAS LYON

What excites you most about this leadership role?

I’ve always loved USC Gould, and have served on just about every committee in my 27 years here. But as vice dean I get to sit “ex officio” on all the major committees, including Appointments, meet regularly with Dean Guzman and the Vice Deans Lybby Carroll and Donald Scotten, and work with the faculty and staff on building the curriculum. As such, I can see all the moving parts that make USC Gould a great law school.

What goals do you hope to accomplish?

Franita’s a tough act to follow, and so if I can keep things running as smoothly as she did during the toughest times of COVID, then I’ll be happy. We’ve been through some very tough times. We’ve always been a very collegial faculty, and it’s the relaxed and informal personal encounters that make us so.

We’re a growing faculty, and have a large group of young scholars, and my goal is to instill and nurture our values of peer mentoring, rigorous scholarship and student-centered teaching. With respect to teaching, I’d like to help expand our JD offerings at the same time that we build the undergraduate major. With respect to scholarship, one particularly exciting opportunity is to form partnerships with other law schools to encourage visiting teachers and scholars, and to give our faculty similar opportunities.