THUNDER BAY — Lakehead University is trying to recruit a new dean of law.
The university has hired an executive search team to find suitable candidates to lead the Bora Laskin Faculty of Law after the recent expiry of the five-year term of Jula Hughes.
In a statement Wednesday, the university thanked Hughes for her contributions, and said "We look forward to securing the next leader who will secure Dr. Hughes' good work in the Faculty of Law by continuing to advance connections with external partners, build and strengthen relationships with Indigenous communities, and continue the innovative mission and mandate of the faculty to ensure access to justice in the North, for the North."
Betsy Birmingham, a former dean of social sciences and humanities at Lakehead, has taken on the role of interim dean of law.
Northern Ontario's only law school, opened in 2013, focuses on Indigenous law, natural resources and environmental law, and sole/small town practice.
The job posting says applicants will preferably have experience as legal practitioners, and expertise in one of the mandated specialty areas.
"You are committed to social justice, to diversity, to inclusion, and to collegial governance. Lived experience as an Indigenous person with strong ties to Indigenous nation(s) and Indigenous knowledges will be a significant asset," it states.
This will be the law school's fourth dean.
Founding dean Lee Steusser was followed by Angelique EagleWoman in 2016, but she left in 2018, alleging she had encountered systemic racism while serving as the first Indigenous dean of any Canadian law school.
Two interim deans were appointed before Hughes assumed the role, while a lawsuit EagleWoman filed against the university for $2.6 million was resolved in 2020.
