If you could suddenly eliminate the lawyers from the world in one fell swoop, there would be a lot of conflict and calamity that would come to pass and somebody would have to pick up the pieces. It's that invisible preventive and preemptive role that is worth thinking about quite carefully. Whether Sullivan can maintain a pace to accommodate regular decanal duties and Nightline appearances remains to be seen. She is teaching constitutional law to first-year students next spring and hopes to continue teaching at least one course each year throughout her tenure as dean. Although Sullivan figures to be an effective advocate for the Law School with outside audiences, she emphasizes that her primary focus will be internal, being attentive to institutional needs.
Faculty believe that, too.
I think she has a sense of priorities that her role is to facilitate the main mission of the Law School, which is teaching and research. In the weeks before and after she took over as dean, Sullivan traveled extensively, meeting alumni and broadening her understanding of their role in Law School affairs. Her personal skills, intellectual agility, and abundant energy often were on display, says Martin Shell, associate dean for external relations. We're going to learn a lot from her. That's what makes me feel like legal education is a great job to be in.