Wendy Scott, a former dean at Mississippi College School of Law and a nationally recognized doctrinal law professor with experience at Tulane Law and N.C. Central School of Law, has been named Elon Law’s new associate dean for academic success.
A distinguished legal educator with ties to North Carolina has joined the Elon Law administration in an innovative approach to further enhancing resources and programs designed to help students achieve success in class and on the bar exam.
Professor Wendy B. Scott begins her new role this month as associate dean for academic success.
In directing academic and bar support programs, the experienced doctrinal law professor and administrator will lead a team of four professional staff members who coordinate and track academic performance and bar exam preparation.
Scott also will teach bar prep courses required of all Elon Law students during their final trimester.
“Elon Law is at the center of a revolution in American legal education and I can think of no more exciting place to begin the next chapter in my career as a law school administrator,” Scott said. “Today’s law school students seek hands-on approaches to acquiring the knowledge and skills required of all successful attorneys. That requires us to think creatively about the ways we support and enhance their learning both in the classroom and on residency as well as in their studies for the bar exam as they seek success in the profession.
“I greatly admire the work that Elon Law’s faculty and staff have already completed in creating a school that better meets the needs of students and look forward to being a voice in the continued growth of a ‘law school with a difference.’”
Scott’s distinguished career has focused on supporting law students in myriad ways. Prior to joining the Elon Law faculty, Scott led Mississippi College School of Law, serving from 2014-2016 as the first African-American to guide the school as dean.
Scott secured her stature in the history of legal education as the first tenured African-American woman at Tulane Law School and the first African-American to serve Tulane as vice dean for academic affairs. She went on to teach at N.C. Central University School of Law for eight years. Scott served at N.C. Central for three of those years as associate dean for academic affairs.
A scholar of constitutional theory and school desegregation, Scott had been widely cited by other scholars and the media for her work on the desegregation of public colleges and universities.
“Wendy Scott’s formidable experience in legal education as a teacher, scholar and administrator is invaluable, and we look forward to the fresh perspectives and important insights she will offer to enhance student learning at our law school,” said Elon Law Dean Luke Bierman. “I can think of no better educator and mentor to help elevate Elon Law’s national stature as the preeminent school for engaged and experiential learning in law.”
Scott graduated from Harvard University and New York University School of Law. Her professional work included positions as a staff attorney at the Legal Action Center of the City of New York, as an associate at Vladeck, Waldman, Elias & Engelhard in New York City, and associate counsel for the Center for Law and Social Justice.
Scott and her husband, the Rev. Eddie Scott, are the proud parents of Christian Scott, a member of Elon University’s Class of 2021.
About Elon Law:
Elon University School of Law in Greensboro, North Carolina, is the preeminent school for engaged and experiential learning in law. With a focus on learning by doing, Elon Law integrates traditional classroom instruction with course-connected, full-time residencies-in-practice in a logically sequenced program of transformational professional preparation. Elon Law’s groundbreaking approach is accomplished in 2.5 years, which provides distinctive value by lowering tuition and permitting graduates early entry into their legal careers.
For more information, visit law.elon.edu.