Law School Dean to Return to Teaching

Akron, Ohio, Nov. 29, 2006 — Richard Aynes, dean of The University of Akron School of Law, has announced that he will conclude his tenure as dean upon the completion of his current term on June 30, 2007, due to an ongoing but not life-threatening health problem.

Aynes said he will return to the faculty to teach, publish and work in the community for the rest of his career at The University of Akron.

“I have been honored to serve as dean of such a fine law school and to work with such talented people,” Aynes said. “All that the school has accomplished has been the product of great teamwork among the various groups of people who work at the university and the school, the accomplishments of students and alumni, and the support of the school's many friends and donors.“

Aynes' leadership of UA's law school has been evident nationally, said UA President Dr. Luis M. Proenza.

“Dick Aynes has brought the School of Law to exceptional levels of success and recognition,” Proenza said. “And he has done it the old fashioned way — through hard work and attention to detail. His relentless focus on statistical analysis of key indicators of progress and success is, in my experience, unparalleled. He leaves a great legacy, and it is gratifying to know that he will remain active as one of our faculty.”

“While I wish that we could continue to benefit from Dean Aynes' strong leadership for a longer period, I am very grateful for the outstanding service he has provided as dean for the past 12 years, and the University is fortunate that he is remaining on campus,” added Dr. Elizabeth Stroble, UA senior vice president and provost and chief operating officer.

The University is moving quickly to form a search committee to identify Aynes' successor in a timely manner to sustain the continued success of the school, Stroble said.

During Aynes' leadership, UA's law school established the Intellectual Property Center, as well as an IP certificate program at the Juris Doctor level and the LL.M. in Intellectual Property. The School of Law also experienced growth in many areas, including — faculty scholarship and publication, number of faculty and support positions, number of chairs and professorships, private contributions, and student application quantity and quality. Applications to the School of Law reached record highs several times during the period, including 2004 when more than 2,300 prospects applied for 180 seats. In addition, the student/faculty ratio improved from 27-to-1 to 13.2-to-1.

Both National Jurist and Prelaw magazines gave the University's law program an “excellent value” rating of 2.7 on a 3.0-point scale, with the school being ranked the No. 1 best value for all public law schools nationally in 2002, and No. 2 in 2004. The trial program continued its winning tradition, earning two national championships and being in the top 16 nationally more times than any other law school. The Washington & Lee impact rankings of citations per issue placed the Akron Law Review in the top 50 for the second year in a row at No. 49 out of 262 ABA-accredited and major foreign journals in the general, or main, journal section. For the fourth year in a row, the Akron Tax Journal was fourth among all tax publications.

A member of Phi Beta Kappa and Omicron Delta Kappa, Aynes earned bachelor's and Juris Doctor degrees from Miami University and Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, respectively, before joining UA in 1976 as coordinator of the Appellate Review Office and a lecturer. He has held the rank of professor since 1986 and was the John F. Seiberling Chair of Constitutional Law in 1993-94 (during which time he also served as interim athletics director).

His research and teaching interests include constitutional law, the 14th Amendment and legal history. Aynes has been admitted to the bar for the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, and U.S. District Court for Northern Ohio. Among his current and past memberships are the American Bar Association, Ohio State Bar Association, Akron Bar Association, Western Reserve Legal Services (Board of Trustees), ABA Special Committee of Evaluation of Judicial Performance (reporter), and consultant to the ABA Victim's Committee, Ohio Supreme Court Racial Fairness Implementation Committee, Ohio Supreme Court Continuing Legal Education Committee and Scanlon Inn of Court.

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