Associate Dean Jeffrey A. Dodge participates in aspiring law professor panels at SEALS

CARLISLE, PA—At the annual meeting of the Southeastern Association of Law Schools, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Jeffrey A. Dodge served on two panels oriented to helping aspiring law professors prepare for the job market. On each panel, Dodge shared his perspective as an associate dean for academic affairs and past member of the Appointments Committee.

The first panel was titled "Screening Interviews: How to Secure Them and What to Expect." This session exposed aspiring law teachers to ways an applicant can better increase their odds of securing a screening interview, along with the format and content of a typical screening interview for faculty positions. The group engaged in an in-depth discussion with aspiring law teachers about question content, interviewing styles, and common mistakes made by applicants during screening interviews.

The second panel was titled "Designing Your Teaching Package." This discussion offered advice on determining areas of teaching and research interests and how that translates to course assignments. Topics included how to articulate these connections and show flexibility while also considering market demands and institutional needs.

The Southeastern Association of Law Schools (SEALS) is a regional organization dedicated to fostering legal education and scholarship. It provides networking opportunities, hosts annual conferences for legal educators, and runs a SEALS Hiring Portal that connects law schools with faculty candidates. It meets annually in late July or early August.

Jeffrey A. Dodge, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Assistant Professor of Law, and Joseph H. Goldstein Faculty Scholar at Penn State Dickinson Law, has spent nearly 20 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, education law, international human rights, and LGBTQ+ inequality. His scholarship focuses on the intersection of educational access and minoritized communities. Dean Dodge is past chair of the Association of American Law Schools Student Services, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Issues, and International Legal Exchange sections. He has served on the national diversity committee of the Law School Admission Council, as an American Bar Association accreditation site evaluator, and as a three-time director of the CLEO Pre-Law Summer Institute.