DEAN DODGE ELECTED TO SERVE IN AALS LEADERSHIP ROLE; MODERATED PROGRAMS AT ANNUAL MEETING
January 2023 — At the 2023 AALS Annual Meeting Jeffrey A. Dodge, Associate Dean for Academic and Student Services, Assistant Professor of Law and Joseph H. Goldstein Faculty Scholar, was elected to serve as the chair of the Student Services Section. Over the past few years Dean Dodge served as vice chair and chair-elect of the section. He also created a scholarly publication for professionals in student services careers called Insights from the Field and currently serves as the editor in chief. In the past Dean Dodge served as chair of the International Legal Exchange and Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Issues sections.
In addition, Dean Dodge served as the moderator for two programs at the Annual Meeting. The first featured Dr. Jennifer Rikard, the Director of Counseling & Psychological Services and Chief Mental Health Officer at San Diego State University. Attendees learned about student mental health trends and ways to build coalitions of support. The second program, titled, “Positioning Ourselves to Make a Difference: A Roundtable Discussion on the Future of the Law Student Services,” created a roundtable style space for professionals in the field to discuss the state of the field. Topics included its present challenges, the importance of self-care, and how we can work together to transform it into a more equitable and sustainable profession in the future.
Associate Dean Jeffrey A. Dodge has spent over 15 years in legal education. Dean Dodge has broad experience overseeing law school and University-level offices of student services, international programs, admissions, academic success, career services, and more. He has taught and presented on topics in the fields of family law, international human rights, and comparative law. His scholarship focuses on the intersections of family law and inequity, and law school academic success and diversity. Dean Dodge is currently the vice chair of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) Student Services Section. He previously served as chair of both the AALS Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Issues and International Legal Exchange sections. Dean Dodge has served on the national diversity committee of the Law School Admissions Council Diversity Committee, as an American Bar Association accreditation site evaluator, and a two time director of the CLEO Pre-Law Summer Institute.