John Carroll will step down as Dean of Cumberland School of Law next summer. He will return to teaching at the law school where he graduated. As Dean, John led the law school through its 50th anniversary. John, who will make the transition on June 30, 2013, had this to say about his future plans:

There is nothing mystical about my decision. I have simply decided that it is time to take a step back and return full-time to my real love in legal education: teaching.

A U.S. Marine Corps flight officer on 200 missions during the Vietnam War, John graduated from Cumberland in 1974. After serving as a civil rights lawyer, law professor and federal judge, he returned to Cumberland in 2001 as Dean. Under John’s tenure as Dean, the law school returned to an earlier focus on producing courtroom-ready lawyers.

U.S. News and World Report ranked Cumberland’s trial advocacy program fourth nationally in 2012, up from fifth in 2011. Recently, John led an effort to update the curriculum to better prepare students for the ever-evolving practice of law. John Carroll has been a highly effective and successful Dean and will be hard to replace. He leaves Cumberland in great shape by all standards.

Source: Al.com