Jocelyn Benson had the interim tag removed and has been named the permanent dean of the Wayne State Law School, according to The Detroit Free Press.
Benson becomes the youngest woman ever to be named dean of a United States law school at the age of 36. She had been serving as interim dean since 2012.
Margaret E. Winters, the Wayne State Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, said, “While serving as the law school’s interim dean since December 2012, Dean Benson has improved bar passage rates, increased the law school’s ranking with U.S. News & World Report and added hands-on learning opportunities for students. I’m excited to see her future accomplishments in the years ahead.”
The law school was founded in 1927 and Benson becomes the second woman to lead the school. She has been a faculty member since 2005.
“I am proud to be leading Wayne Law at this historic moment,” Benson said in a news release. “We strive to be the leading legal education institution in the Midwest for providing opportunities to serve the public. As Detroit’s law school, we also have a responsibility to be a magnet for the next generation of advocates for justice in our region.
“In addition, my hope is that all graduates of Wayne Law, no matter where they land, are instilled with a desire to integrate service into their careers. And all students of the law school should have the opportunity to actually practice and experience the law before they graduate. Students who come to Wayne Law become part of a network of advocates committed to the same ideals. Together, they are something larger than themselves. We are a family here.”
Benson founded the Military Spouses of Michigan and is also the group’s director. Benson previously clerked for Judge Damon J. Keith of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.