Hiram Chodosh

by Allison Hansen

Dean Hiram Chodosh is a busy man. At the helm of the S.J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah, his office is buzzing and his appointment schedule is tightly wound.

Chodosh brought his active pace to Salt Lake City three years ago by way of Case Western Reserve University, where he was a professor, associate dean of academic affairs and director of the international law center. The Yale Law graduate also spent time as a practicing attorney for an international firm in New York City, and his work has been published extensively. His focus on global justice is a perfect fit for Utah, he says. “This community is one of the most internationally sophisticated communities in the country. And today, it seems almost trite to mention that actions in one place can immediately reap consequences in another. The distinctions between global and local aren’t as easily maintained as they used to be.”

Chodosh has continued this swift tempo at the University of Utah, where he is tackling an ambitious to-do list, including establishing scores of new programs. Recruiting and growing scholarship opportunities are focused on leadership and decision-making, with emphasis on multidisciplinary cross-training. Students are active in advanced research projects, fellowships and think tanks locally and abroad.

One of the dean’s ambitions is to modernize the modalities of legal education, “embracing the classical methods of research and teaching, while also adapting to train the next generation of leaders,” as he puts it. One indication: the law school has the largest podcast archive in the entire university. A new technology platform for student learning will be introduced next fall.

This focused drive and forward thinking is paying off. Last year’s graduating class had 100 percent job placement within nine months. The school boasts a 90 percent bar exam passage rate. And while the nation’s down economy and tighter access to credit have resulted in flat or declining applications to law schools, the S.J. Quinney School of Law had a 22 percent increase in applicants.

Just don’t expect Dean Chodosh to get too comfortable. “In coming here, I was looking for a place and opportunity to make the greatest impact. I’m savoring every moment of this opportunity.”