Sent March 8, 2024

Dear colleagues,

It is with mixed emotion that I announce that Marcilynn Burke, dean of the School of Law and the Dave Frohnmayer Chair in Leadership and Law, will be leaving the University of Oregon to become dean of the law school at Tulane University. 

While it is always hard to see a valued colleague move on, I appreciate all she accomplished in her seven years at the UO and wish Marcilynn great success and enjoyment at Tulane Law.

Marcilynn, who specializes in property, land use, environmental, and natural resources law, joined the UO as law school dean in 2017. During her tenure at Oregon, she increased fundraising and strengthened ties with alumni, which supported expansion of areas of excellence in business law and experiential learning.

She grew enrollment of the law school’s talented and diverse student body. She also recruited and retained distinguished faculty and staff members, advancing the academic excellence of the school. Marcilynn also enhanced student support, leading to improved bar passage rates and job placement success.

The university will launch a national search for a new law school dean following the arrival of a new provost. I am grateful for the strong leadership team in the law school during this time of transition, and I expect to name an interim dean in the coming days.

Marcilynn will leave the UO at the end of July. I look forward to continuing to work with her in the next few months as we prepare for her departure. Please join me and President Scholz in congratulating Marcilynn on her new appointment and wishing her the very best at Tulane.

Sincerely,Karen Ford
Interim Provost and Senior Vice President