Kevin Cole - University of San Diego

In his first commencement speech as dean, newly appointed Dean
Kevin Cole spoke about skills graduates would need to succeed in
the legal profession.
“Remember the case of Napoleon Dynamite,” Cole recalls.
“When asked whether he had a girlfriend, Napoleon responded,
‘Girls only want boyfriends who have great skills. You know, like
nunchuck skills, bow-hunting skills, computer-hacking skills.’
Napoleon’s perception that he was lacking in certain respects motivated
him to improve his lot. As lawyers, your ability to critically
examine your own positions, arguments and plans will be even
more helpful.”
Although lacking in bow-hunting skills, Dean Cole brings a rich
combination of skills and experience to his new position. Cole, a
scholar in criminal law and procedure, was named the new dean of
the University of San Diego School of Law in April, after serving
as interim dean since July 2005.
Cole got a glimpse of a dean’s responsibilities even before his
year as interim dean by working for four years as the associate dean
for former Dean Daniel B. Rodriguez.
“Having worked closely with Professor Cole for the past several
years, I have full confidence in his skills, judgment and ideas about
making the law school great. With support from the University
and law school alumni, he will lead the school toward a higher
level of excellence and reputation,” says Rodriguez.
Cole’s prior experience in administration gave him insight into
what life will now be like in the dean’s chair. Cole is the first dean
to come from the USD law faculty in many years, and there are
definite advantages to coming from the inside.
“I think I’ve come into the job with a better idea of what the
faculty’s interests and ambitions are,” Cole said. “There is less
transition time needed to formulate the plan for moving the
school forward.”
As a dean who has spent a large portion of his career at USD’s
School of Law, Cole has an even greater motivation to improve
and expand the program.
“Not only have I known my colleagues from the beginning, I can
also imagine what it will be like to return to the faculty one day
when my duties as dean are over,” he says. “It gives an incentive to
build for the long haul because of my investment in the institution.”
Michael Rider, an alumnus on the dean’s search committee,
says as a tenured faculty member and administrator, Cole knows
the culture of the law school, how things work and how to make
good things happen.
“Kevin is affable, outgoing and is very solutions-oriented,” Rider says.
Professor Steven Smith, chairman of the dean’s search committee,
said the committee was looking for a dean who would appreciate the
school’s academic strides in recent years. “We wanted someone who
would understand this and have good academic values. Being here
for quite a while, Dean Cole understands the progress we’ve made.”
This also helps when meeting with alumni and community
members—they know Cole has been at USD School of Law for
a long time and has a sincere interest in seeing the school succeed.
Cole has already helped the law school’s progress. He has aided
in reforming the grading system, modernizing the curriculum and
providing more class choices for students. He has also hired a new
assistant dean of career services to assist students in finding employment
after graduation.
Cole’s prior experience in administration gave him insight into what life will now be like
in the dean’s chair. Cole is the first dean to come from the USD law faculty in many
years, and there are definite advantages coming from the inside.
Cole has three main goals he hopes to accomplish as dean:
First, Cole says USD’s law school is a real asset to the city. But
he believes the school can do a better job in making the community
aware of all the school has to offer. “Our events on campus
benefit the community only to the extent that we make the community
aware of them,” Cole said.
Along the same lines, Cole wants to spotlight the law school’s
legal clinics, which provide free services to an underserved population
in San Diego, a benefit of which many people in the community
are not aware.
Second, Cole plans to continue to support the law school's
effort to attract a high caliber of students and faculty, and to support
them in the ways needed to help them to achieve at a high level. He
says the law school is very well regarded as a strong general purpose
law school, and overall, a sound place to get a legal education.
“The students are very strong, with credentials as high as they’ve
ever been,” Cole says. “This translates into great accomplishments
when they graduate and become alumni. More and more alums are
making big splashes in the legal world.”
The law school’s tax program was recently ranked ninth in the
nation, and the faculty is ranked twenty-third in how often its work
is cited. These are strong indicators of the promise of the faculty,
Cole says. “As the school becomes better known, the faculty is a target
of opportunity for other law schools, and we need to be in
a position where the faculty is willing to resist these offers from
ADVOCATE USD LAW / 23:1 ❖ 11