Colleagues,
I am pleased to announce that Lonnie T. Brown Jr., the Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professor and A. Gus Cleveland Distinguished Chair of Legal Ethics and Professionalism at the University of Georgia School of Law, has been named dean of the College of Law and Elvin E. Overton Distinguished Professor of Law. He begins July 1.
Lonnie joined Georgia’s School of Law in 2002 after serving as an assistant professor at the University of Illinois College of Law from 1999 to 2002 and a visiting assistant professor at Vanderbilt University Law School in 1998. He was an associate with Alston & Bird in Atlanta from 1991 to 1998 and a partner from 1998 to 1999.
Lonnie brings distinguished credentials as a legal scholar and an excellent background in academic administration to his new role. He has served at Georgia as associate dean for academic affairs in the law school and an administrative fellow in the office of the senior vice president for academic affairs and provost.
Lonnie is an outstanding administrator and scholar with a clear vision for enhancing the student experience and broadening the impact of the college.
As dean, Lonnie will oversee a growing college that was recently ranked sixth best in the nation by preLaw magazine in providing students with a reasonably priced legal education that allows them to graduate with less debt than their peers.
Lonnie received his bachelor’s degree from Emory University in 1986, studying Shakespeare in summer 1985 at University College, Oxford University. He earned his JD from Vanderbilt University Law School in 1989.
I look forward to working with Lonnie and his colleagues to educate our students to be bold and creative leaders in the legal profession and in our communities.
Doug Blaze, the College of Law dean from 2008 to 2015, has generously served as interim dean since July 2020, and we offer him sincere thanks for his service and leadership. I also want to thank the members of the search committee, chaired by Lori Messinger, dean of the College of Social Work, for their time and dedication.
Please join me in welcoming Lonnie.
John Zomchick
Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor