Listen to the full conversation online.

Read the full article from Illinois Public Media.

Read more about PELP online.

An 18-year veteran of the College staff and a graduate of the school herself, Jolynn has spent the last several months gathering views on diversity, equity, and inclusion from our students, faculty, and alumni. After reflecting on a summary of these conversations, Dean Sharpe concluded that the College would benefit from her continued leadership in this critical area. Jolynn will serve as the College’s Senior Director for Inclusive Excellence, Career Planning and Professional Development. In this new role, she will split her time between Career Services and helping Dean Sharpe to foster inclusion and belonging at the College.

Michael Loch joins the College as our first Director of Academic Success and Bar Support, as well as a Lecturer in Law. He joins us from the University of Oregon School of Law, where he served as the director of academic success and taught several classes on bar preparation and fundamental law school skills. In his role at Illinois, Michael will work directly with students, starting in their 1L year, to build academic and analytical skills that will set them on the path toward success during law school, on the bar exam, and ultimately, in their careers. 

Maggie Verklan, in partnership with the campus Counseling Center, joins the College as our new (and first) embedded counselor. Assigned exclusively to the law school, Maggie will support our students’ mental health and well-being through individual counseling and programming. 

Dean Jamelle Sharpe is eager to collaborate with the new staff members on a variety of initiatives.

“Since the beginning of my deanship, I have been vocal about my commitment to inclusion, belonging, and student health and well-being. I am confident that the addition of our newest team members will enhance our ability to support the diverse needs of our students and advance us in our goal of fostering a community where everyone can thrive,” he said.

Read the full feature on the News-Gazette website.

Sharpe, who joined the College of Law faculty in 2008, brings more than a decade of administrative leadership to the role, having served as associate dean and senior associate dean for academic affairs in the College. Sharpe has served as a Provost Fellow and as a fellow in the Committee on Institutional Cooperation’s Academic Leadership Program. In 2018, the provost selected him to chair the Urbana-Champaign campus’ Consensual Relationship Policy Review Task Force. He has served on the University’s Diversity Realized at Illinois through Visioning Excellence (DRIVE) Committee since 2013, serving as its chair during the 2021-2022 academic year.

“I congratulate Professor Sharpe on his appointment. After a highly competitive, national search, Professor Sharpe emerged as the clear choice to lead the College of Law. I commend the search committee and Provost leadership for selecting a candidate who is a highly regarded scholar, has a strong understanding of the college and is uniquely qualified to advance its strategic priorities and initiatives. Professor Sharpe has demonstrated experience as a collaborative leader and has proven he can systematically and programmatically execute a vision, and I look forward to working with him,” said Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Provost John Coleman.

A nationally recognized expert on federal administrative law and the federal judiciary, Sharpe’s research focuses on the constitutional and statutory divisions of policymaking authority between courts and administrative agencies. He is frequently called on to provide analysis and commentary for media outlets on a variety of issues, including judicial politics, separation of powers and immigration law.

Before joining the College of Law faculty, Sharpe served as a Bigelow Teaching Fellow and Lecturer in Law at the University of Chicago Law School. Prior to that, he clerked for the Honorable Gerald Bard Tjoflat of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit and was a litigation associate at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP in New York.

Sharpe earned his J.D. from Yale Law School, where he was managing editor of the Yale Journal of International Law. He earned a bachelor’s degree in English and American Literature from New York University, where he graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. 

“Fifteen years ago, I made the College my professional home because of its culture of intellectual rigor, inclusion, and public engagement. Today, I am honored to serve as its next dean,” said Professor Sharpe.

He continued: “During my candidacy, I shared my optimism for strengthening the College’s well-earned reputation for legal research and teaching excellence. I have every confidence we can attract highly motivated and accomplished students from all over the country and the world. We will commit to their success in numerous ways, such as expanding online course offerings, mental wellness education and support, and opportunities for study in Chicago and other major legal markets. We have the motivation and means to recruit the brightest and most influential legal minds to our faculty. In addition, I know that we can build on what makes the Illinois Law community so special: the abiding comradery among its alums, students, faculty, administrators, and staff.

“I’m very excited about the College’s future, and I have no doubt that we will continue to excel in pursuit of our institutional mission.”

Editor’s note: For more information, contact Stephanie Henry, communications associate for the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, 217-333-5010, publicaffairs@illinois.edu.