College of Law appoints new acting dean

Fabienne Fleurantin/Staff Writer

After months of deliberation, the new acting dean of the College of Law has been chosen.

Tawia (Tay) Baidoe Ansah was officially appointed this position effective May 19, 2017 after serving as the college’s associate dean for Academic Affairs since 2012.

“His extensive professional experience includes serving as a legal expert for several international organizations, including for the Council of Europe in Kosovo and in Rwanda for the United Nations Center for Human Rights, where he helped emerging nations adopt democratic laws,” Provost and Executive Vice President Kenneth Furton wrote in a memorandum to the FIU community. “He also served as an assistant prosecutor for the Ministry of the Attorney General in Toronto, Canada, and as a legal consultant to JPMorgan Chase.”

Alexander Acosta was the college’s former dean prior to being nominated by President Donald Trump to be part of his cabinet as the secretary of the Department of Labor.

Acosta, Ansah said, was a “very successful dean” and led the school to great achievements.

“When he first came on board in 2009, we were in the 4th tier and now we’re in the top 100,” Ansah said. “Our bar passage rates for the past 3 or 4 years have been in the top 3 and we’ve been No.1 for our two previous bars.”

Although the length of time Ansah will spend as the acting dean of the College of Law is uncertain, the projected time frame is approximately a year’s time and he plans to continue Acosta’s legacy of keeping the college at a state of excellence.

“Our mission is to produce a high caliber of lawyers for both the public and private sectors,” Ansah said. “The mission of the school is to service the range of clientele that transcends class, race and ethnicity.”

A national search for the permanent dean has begun and until one has been found, Ansah vows to do the best job he can.

“I am very grateful, very humble that the president and the provost reposed their trust on me to undertake this job and very confident that we’ll maintain the college and its standards and that we will hand to the next dean a strong and stable school,” said Ansah.

Provost and Executive Vice President Kenneth Furton was unavailable for comment at the time of publication.