William F. Flanagan Reappointed Dean, Faculty of Law

(March 30, 2010) 

Photo by Greg Black

Dean William F. Flanagan

Principal Daniel Woolf, on the strong recommendation of the Advisory Committee on the Deanship, is pleased to announce the reappointment of William F. Flanagan as Dean of the Faculty of Law. At the Dean’s request, the reappointment is for a three-year term, effective July 1, 2010.

Since his appointment in 2005, Dean Flanagan has taken the lead on implementing the law school’s first-ever strategic plan, with an emphasis on the enhancement of international programs, interdisciplinary programs, and experiential learning.

Since 2005, the law school has expanded its international law program at the Bader International Study Centre and its international student exchange programs. The law school can now offer over 60% of its students a study-abroad opportunity, substantially higher than any other Canadian law school.

Since 2005, the law school has also developed new joint degree programs in economics and business, and expanded its clinical programs with the introduction of a new Business Law Clinic.

The law library has undergone a $500,000 refurbishment and over $1.4 million has been raised in support of the new Mullan Scholarship, the law school’s first merit-based renewal entrance scholarship. Individual donor support has more than doubled over the past five years.

In 2008, the law school launched its new PhD program, building on the school’s longstanding LL.M. graduate program. In 2009, the Faculty Board unanimously passed a new Strategic Plan for Research 2010-15, setting ambitious new research objectives for the faculty over the next few years.

Dean Flanagan holds a JD from the University of Toronto Faculty of Law (1985), a DEA in international economic law from the University of Paris I (1986), and an LLM from Columbia University (1989).  He served as a law clerk to the Hon. Justice W.Z. Estey of the Supreme Court of Canada in 1986-87.  Dean Flanagan started teaching at Queen's University in 1991 and was appointed a Queen's National Scholar in 1996.  He is the recipient of two teaching awards at the Faculty of Law (1994 and 1998). 

In making this announcement, Principal Woolf wishes to extend his thanks to the members of the Advisory Committee.