I am so thrilled to be part of this UBalt Law community. My decision to accept the position of dean feels like coming home in many ways. Off and on throughout my life, Maryland has been home for me. I am so happy to be back and to be a short drive from my mom, a retired teacher who resides in Prince George’s County, and near many family, friends and former professional colleagues who live in the region.
As I get to know this law school and all the dedicated people who give it energy and passion, I am filled with pride in what UBalt Law stands for and all that has been accomplished by our faculty, staff, alumni and friends. I feel tremendous optimism about building on our many successes and harnessing your enthusiasm and goodwill to help us grow even stronger.
I look forward to meeting alumni, supporters and friends in the weeks and months ahead. I will need your help as we set priorities and envision an even brighter future for the law school. We know our students are coming to us with energy and ambition, but also with significant burdens in the post-Covid era. Financial challenges, mental health concerns, and the need to juggle multiple responsibilities outside the classroom all weigh on our students, many of whom lack the support structures that are crucial to their success.
To help our students realize their dreams of becoming lawyers and making a difference in society, we need our community to pitch in as mentors, coaches and employers. We need financial contributions to our bar stipend fund, which improves bar examination passage rates, and to our scholarship programs on which our hard-working students increasingly rely.
Excitingly, 2025 marks the University of Baltimore’s centennial anniversary, an impressive milestone worth celebrating. As we move forward in these complex and often challenging times, let’s recommit to doing what we can to support this law school that means so much to us. Working together, I know we can do great things!
LaVonda Reed
Dean