MORGANTOWN — West Virginia University College of Law Dean Greg Bowman announced he will be leaving the school at the end of June to take on another role as dean of Roger Williams University School of Law.
"I will remember my time at the WVU College of Law with great fondness," Bowman said in an interview with The West Virginia Record. "I had so many wonderful experiences here and wonderful colleagues."
Bowman said he's had many memorable moments at WVU, which makes it hard for him to pick just a few of his favorites.
Bowman
"Being selected by the graduating class of 2011 as the law school’s Professor of the Year was really humbling," Bowman said. "Helping to lead the law school’s study abroad programs in Mexico and Geneva was amazing."
Bowman said co-coaching the Jessup International Moot Court team for many years with his friend and colleague, Jim Friedberg, was also a memorable moment.
"Establishing the new Center for Consumer Law and Education has been really impactful for our state and our students, and I am proud of that," Bowman said. "And I truly enjoyed building stronger relationships between the law school and the State Bar, our judiciary and our alumni."
Bowman said the law school of the future will need to have excellent partnerships with the bar, and he is proud to have helped strengthen those relationships.
"I will certainly take with me a great appreciation of the importance of mission, and of the power of being the only law school in the state," Bowman said of what he will be taking with him to Roger Williams. "That’s true both at WVU and at Roger Williams. Both schools know who they are—public service-driven institutions that work hard to train the lawyers and leaders of the future—and both schools can partner with the bar, state government and regional federal government in a very powerful way that helps the state and helps the students."
Bowman said when you combine mission focus with that sort of power, exciting things can happen.
"It is strange to start saying goodbye to my colleagues and students virtually instead of in person," Bowman said. "I will really miss seeing my students at graduation, which is one of my favorite days of the year."
Bowman said he knows it is important to keep everyone as safe possible, and going online was the right thing to do.
"Everyone at the law school—students, staff, and faculty—worked extraordinarily hard to make the transition to online learning work," Bowman said. "It shows our strength and resilience. I am so proud to have been part of the WVU Law community."
