Wayne State University Law School
Detroit,
Michigan
Robert M. Ackerman was named the 10th dean of Wayne State University Law School in May 2008. He came to WSU from Pennsylvania State University's Dickinson School of Law, where he taught several courses and also served as director of the Center for Dispute Resolution. In his first year at Wayne Law, Mr. Ackerman encouraged an expansion of clinical programs and helped establish the Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights, the Program for International Legal Studies, and the Public Interest Law Fellowships. While he has been dean at WSU, the law school has experienced a 60% increase in financial aid to law students, a revitalization of the alumni organization and annual giving, enhanced visibility of the Center for Dispute Resolution and the Law and Government program, and an increase in the diversity of the faculty and student body. Mr. Ackerman has lectured internationally and written extensively in the fields of torts, dispute resolution, communitarian theory, and civic responsibility, with his work appearing in a wide variety of high profile publications. He is coauthor of the book "Law and Community: The Case of Torts" and author of the essay, "Taking Responsibility," which won the international Communitarian Essay Contest. Mr. Ackerman is an active participant in professional groups related to conflict resolution and recently completed a term as chairperson of the Association of American Law Schools Section on Law and Communitarian Studies. A founding member of Mediators Beyond Borders, he has worked on development projects in Tanzania with Penn State's InterInstitutional Consortium for Indigenous Knowledge. Mr. Ackerman teaches courses in torts and dispute resolution and also serves as Wayne State's Faculty Athletics Representative.
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