Darby Dickerson

Dean Darby Dickerson joined Southwestern as its 12th Dean and 2nd female dean in June 2021. Dean Dickerson has extensive experience in leadership, teaching, scholarship, community service, and philanthropy. Within the higher-ed community, she is known for revolutionizing legal writing.

Dean Dickerson became the dean of The John Marshall Law in December 2016. After John Marshall was acquired by the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) in 2019, she became the inaugural dean of the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law (f/k/a UIC John Marshal Law School). From July 2011 until December 2016, she served as Dean and the W. Frank Newton Professor of Law at Texas Tech University School of Law.

Before that, she served as Interim Dean and Dean at Stetson University College of Law in Florida from 2003–2011. She started her full-time academic career at Stetson, joining the faculty in 1995. At Stetson, she also served in a wide variety of other administrative roles, including Vice Dean, Associate Dean, Director of Legal Research & Writing, Moot Court Board Director, and Law Review Advisor.