Tom Campbell appointed dean of Chapman School of Law

Following a rigorous national search,

Chapman University’s Board of Trustees has approved the appointment of Tom Campbell, former U.S. congressman from California’s 12
^th
and 15
^th
districts and former California state senator, as the new dean of the Chapman University School of Law.   He will begin his deanship immediately.

“Tom Campbell brings a wealth of experience as a teacher, educator and public servant,” said Chapman University President Jim Doti.  “His outstanding record of scholarship and leadership at UC Berkeley and Stanford, as a member of Congress and in his service to the state of California augurs well for the skills he brings to Chapman.”

Campbell is currently a professor of business at the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley, where he also served as dean from 2002 to 2008.   Prior to that he was a tenured professor of law at Stanford University (associate professor, 1983-1987; full professor, 1987-2002).    He has been at Chapman University since January 2009, on leave of absence from Berkeley, as the Inaugural Presidential Fellow, Fletcher Jones Distinguished Visiting Professor of Law, and Visiting Professor of Economics, and has been teaching classes on antitrust, separation of powers and legislation.

“Professor Campbell’s distinguished record makes him uniquely qualified to lead the Chapman School of Law as it continues its march to national prominence,” said Chapman University Chancellor Daniele Struppa.  “We thank our search committee for its year of hard work and for its recommendation of this highly respected, deeply experienced leader and scholar.”

Campbell served five terms in the U.S. House of Representatives (1989-1993 and 1995-2001) and two years as a California state senator (1993-1995). He was also the director of finance of the State of California and a member of the California Governor’s Council of Economic Advisors.   He has served as law clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Byron White; White House Fellow;  executive assistant to the Deputy Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice; and director of the Bureau of Competition at the Federal Trade Commission.

“Tom’s commitment in word and deed to helping others really resonates with Chapman’s philosophy of leadership,” President Doti said.  “Tom and his gracious wife, Susanne, have, over many years, taught students on a volunteer basis in the African nations of Ghana, Rwanda and Eritrea.  It’s that kind of caring commitment to others that I believe will truly complement the culture and ethos of our law school as well as our university.”

Campbell holds a J.D., magna cum laude, from Harvard Law School, where he served on the board of editors of the Harvard Law Review. He also holds a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Chicago and is an acknowledged expert in the application of economics to legal questions. He has published articles in the Harvard Law Review, the Columbia Law Review, the Stanford Law Review, the UCLA Law Review, the Texas Law Review and the Antitrust Law Journal, among others. He is the author of the book
Separation of Powers in Practice
, published by Stanford University Press in 2004.

Campbell replaces Interim Dean Scott Howe, professor of criminal law, who filled the position left by John Eastman in January 2010, when Eastman resigned his deanship to enter the race for California attorney general.   Both Howe and Eastman remain members of the Chapman School of Law faculty.