Summary: The dean of Seton Hall University School of Law, Patrick E. Hobbs, has announced that he will step down from his post at the end of the year.
Patrick E. Hobbs, the longtime dean for the Seton Hall University law school, will step down from his post at the end of the year, according to The Star-Ledger.
Hobbs has been the dean at the only private law school in New Jersey since 1999. He will take a sabbatical and then return to a faculty position.
“On every cylinder the law school is doing incredibly well right now,” Hobbs said. “This is the time when you give somebody else the privilege of running Seton Hall Law School.”
“We’ve had a successful fundraising campaign, raised almost $30 million for the school,” he continued. “Pretty much every program in the school has risen in that period of time. Our students are doing great in the job market.”
Hobbs will also remain as the ombudsman in the office of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. He was recruited to the newly created position following the George Washington Bridge scandal. Hobbs would be allowed to police wrongdoing, issue ethics training and improve email policies, according to what he was told by the governor.
“They see it as a positive,” Hobbs said of the governor’s staff. “We were able to hire a chief ethics officer a few months ago, and Heather Taylor is doing a great job. I think the governor feels well served by what we’re doing.”
The provost at the university will conduct a formal search for a new dean.