Prof. Joan Howland Named One of ‘Most Influential People in Legal Education’ for 2nd Consecutive Year

For the second straight year, The National Jurist has named Professor Joan Howland to its annual list of the 25 most influential figures in American legal education. Howland, who holds the Law School’s Roger F. Noreen Professorship and serves as associate dean and director of the Law Library, is tied for 25th in the magazine’s ranking, which appears in its Winter 2017 issue. The National Jurist is read by more than 100,000 law students and educators. Its “most influential” list is based on ratings by law school deans and professors nationwide.

Howland’s appearance on the list reflects a great many accomplishments—most recently, being named the winner of the 2017 Association of American Law Schools Section on Law Libraries and Legal Information award for excellence in legal education. As chair of the Council of the American Bar Association Section for Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar, she oversaw a major revision of the ABA Standard for Accreditation. Under Howland’s leadership, the Council also took steps to reform the process used by the ABA to collect data from law schools about bar passage, diversity, and student employment after graduation. These changes are bringing greater transparency to law school operations and outcomes, thus providing better information for use by practicing attorneys and prospective law students.

In addition to her work with the ABA, Howland has led the Law Library to national prominence and has held national leadership positions in law librarianship with the Association of American Law Schools, the American Association of Law Libraries, the American Indian Law Library Association, and the American Library Association. She is currently co-chair of the Chinese and American Forum on Legal Information and Law Libraries, working to increase partnerships and information exchanges between Chinese and American law schools.

“All of us in the Law School community know of Joan’s excellent and tireless work on so many fronts,” said Dean Garry Jenkins. “It’s gratifying to see her recognized once again as a key influencer by legal educators across the nation.”

Joan Howland
Associate Dean for Information and Technology
Roger F. Noreen Professor of Law