The University has launched a search for the next dean of Emory School of Law.

Provost Earl Lewis shared the news in a Jan. 13 letter to the law school community:

"The Search Advisory Committee will be chaired by Dean Stephen Bowen, dean of Oxford College and former provost of Bucknell University, and will include representatives from faculty, staff, alumni and student constituencies. The search will focus on outstanding candidates internal to the Emory Law School and Emory University community.

"The Search Advisory Committee has outlined a schedule for the search process which will begin shortly with a call for nominations of candidates from among the tenured members of the Emory Law faculty. A link on the Emory Law website will be created to support this search and all pertinent search information will be available there. Final candidates will meet with the faculty, staff, students and alumni of the school whose comments will be solicited to help assess the relative strengths of the candidates. The Search Advisory Committee expects to report its findings to the Provost by the end of March 2012."

The Search Advisory Committee includes:

• Stephen Bowen, dean of Oxford College; chair

• Kay Levine, associate professor of law

• Paul M. McClarty Jr., attorney

• Daniel Reach, editor-in-chief, Emory Law Journal

• Gregory Riggs, associate dean, student services/community engagement

• Leah Ward Sears, attorney and former chief justice, Georgia Supreme Court

• John Witte, director of the Center for the Study of Law and Religion, Jonas Robitscher Professor of Law, Alonzo L. McDonald Family Foundation Distinguished Professor

The provost's letter continues:

"I encourage your participation in this important process and I thank Dean Bowen and the entire Search Advisory Committee for their service on Emory's behalf as we select this important campus leader."