Dear Students:

We are now in Week 2 of the Fall 2020 examination period, and the first day of 1L exams. Therefore, my message to you this week will be brief. I want to share with you three things – two related to your exams – that I am working on for you.

First, I am pleased to introduce your new Senior Associate Dean of Administrative Affairs, Tammy Tideswell. Dean Tideswell will succeed the indomitable Dean Hank Molinengo who will retire after 11 years of incredible service to the GW Law Community. In addition to Dean Tideswell’s years of service in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Office of the Judge Advocate General, and her role as a Senior Military Judge, Dean Tideswell is one of our own. She graduated with highest honors with a Masters of Laws in Environmental Law from GW Law. Please join me in wishing a warm farewell to Dean Hank, and welcoming Dean Tideswell. 

Second, while I truly admire the fact that GW Law students come to their studies motivated by personal values, a sense of mission, and commitment to becoming positive contributors to their communities, I also appreciate that you have come to professional school in order to land a job. That is why I am developing and implementing additional strategies to support job placement. Working with your Career Services office, we have seen a steady and encouraging trend in the employment numbers for this class since I arrived. We are adding new services, engaging alumni and faculty more actively in the process, and employing new strategies to help graduates meet the challenges of this unusual job market. The data tell us these efforts are beginning to bear fruit and so they will continue to expand and will be in place to support you when the time comes. 

Lastly, I am turning my focus to expanding the support for students who wish to pursue careers in public interest. We are just getting started in our work to enhance this aspect of our law school programming. Next semester please look out for announcements about increased sources of financial, advising, and career support for this all-important work. One of the many difficult lessons the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us is how devastating inequality still threatens lives, communities, and nations right here at GW Law and around the globe. Therefore, we are putting more resources toward helping you to redress that inequality with your legal training.

We know how hard you are working – and we understand how difficult it may be for you to do so at this time. I want you to know, that I am working hard to help you translate your hard work, sacrifice, and commitment during this exam period, into the opportunity to realize the dreams and aspirations that brought you to law school in the first place. I encourage you to hold fast to those dreams, now more than ever before.

Be well,

Dayna Bowen Matthew
Dean and Harold H. Greene Professor of Law
All Week: Midnight Breakfast at GW

Times vary by day: Midnight Breakfast is an annual fall semester tradition that invites students to take a break from studying for final exams to enjoy some food and fun. This year's celebration will feature a week of virtual events for the entire GW community, from game nights and yoga, to cooking demonstrations and a celebrity chef.
Wednesday: US Election Results and Implications for Taiwan: A One Month Assessment

9 am: Join the Sigur Center for Asian Studies for a discussion with influential experts in the US and Taiwan for their perspectives on what we can expect as we look ahead to the next four years on topics from cross-Strait relations, US-Taiwan free trade agreement, and post-pandemic recovery.

Wednesday: Installation of Sonia Suter as the Kahan Research Professor of Law

2 pm: Join GW Law as we formally install Sonia Suter as the Kahan Research Professor of Law, thanks to a generous donation by alum Jonathan S. Kahan, JD '73

Wednesday: Mental Health Discussion Series: Honoring Growth

4 pm: The Mental Health Discussion Series is a weekly, hour-long discussion designed for students to collectively meet with a counselor and discuss various topics. MHDS is an easily accessible space to connect with other students and discuss mental wellness, which are all the more important now given this unprecedented time with COVID-19.

Wednesday: Sisters in the Academy: Come As You Are

7 pm: Student Life, Office of Advocacy and Support, and the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Community Engagement will host a space for GW Black and Brown women to meet and network.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
"SCOTUS Needs to Decide Law, Not Just Fix Errors"

In a Bloomberg Law Insight, Associate Dean Alan B. Morrison examines the SCOTUS ruling overturning restrictions on religious gatherings in New York. "The important question is not whether the Supreme Court reached the right conclusion, but whether it should have rendered a decision at all."

"Having Strong Gender Violence Laws Isn’t Enough"

Associate Dean and Burnett Family Professorial Lecturer Rosa Celorio writes in Americas Quarterly that while noteworthy laws have been passed in Latin America to protect women against gender-based violence, much more needs to be done in the areas of implementation and enforcement.