Sudha N. Setty has been named the next Dean of Western New England University School of Law. University President Anthony S. Caprio announced the appointment, effective July 1, 2018.
“Professor Setty is a fine teacher and scholar who understands fully the challenges we currently face in higher education and those which we will continue to confront in these times of unprecedented change in legal education,” said President Caprio. “Her wisdom, intellect, training, experience, and energy will serve the Law School (its faculty, staff, students, and alumni), the University, and the legal community very well for many years to come.”
Setty will succeed Eric J. Gouvin, who has chosen to return to the faculty after five years at the helm of the School of Law.
“It is an honor to lead an institution in which I strongly believe, with students that I care about deeply, and with talented faculty and dedicated staff. Law schools are in a unique position of needing to think broadly about the future of legal education, as well as the future of a just society,” says Setty. “I am excited to commence my term as the dean at Western New England, where our driving focus is to launch the careers of thoughtful, dedicated lawyers who work in the service of their clients and for the betterment of society.”
Setty joined the Western New England faculty in 2006 and currently serves as Professor of Law and Associate Dean for Faculty Development and Intellectual Life. She is an active scholar in the areas of comparative law, rule of law, and national security. Most recently, she published a monograph National Security Secrecy: Comparative Effects on Democracy and the Rule of Law (Cambridge University Press, 2017), which was hailed as “an illuminating discussion of the costs of secrecy.”
Setty has received numerous awards for her work, including the Connecticut Bar Association’s 2017 Tapping Reeve Legal Educator Award and two Western New England University School of Law Professor of the Year honors. She cofounded the School of Law’s Color of Law Roundtable speaker series, bringing attorneys and judges of color to campus to speak about their experiences and career paths. Setty currently serves on the editorial board of the Journal of National Security Law and Policy, the executive committee of the American Society of Comparative Law, and was a Fulbright Senior Specialist at the Chinese University of Hong Kong Faculty of Law.
Prior to entering academia, Setty served as a litigator with the New York firm of Davis Polk & Wardwell, where she focused on antitrust and securities regulation matters. Her extensive pro bono practice included litigating federal civil rights cases and the mentoring of New York City high school students.
Setty earned her J.D. from Columbia Law School, where she graduated as a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar, and her A.B. in History with Honors from Stanford University.
Western New England University School of Law offers full- and part-time programs of study leading to the Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree, a Master of Science in Law, and Master of Science and Master of Laws (LL.M) degrees in Elder Law and Estate Planning. For more information, visit www.wne.edu/law.
