BYU names new law dean

PROVO — For the first time in 15 years, Brigham Young University's J. Reuben Clark Law School has installed a new leader.

Kevin Worthen recently was named the man who will succeed H. Reese Hansen as the law school dean. Worthen, true to his personality, is eager for the challenge.

"What's exciting is the kind of institution this is and the potential it has as an intellectual and spiritual place," Worthen said. "It's like being given a machine that's been tuned up, revved up and ready to go."

Worthen has been serving as academic dean for academic affairs since 1999. Hansen, who has been serving as dean since 1989, will return to full-time teaching and research.

"(Worthen) is known by all who work with him as personable, thoughtful and persuasive," said Alan L. Wilkins, a BYU vice president. "His work as associate dean in the law school and as the faculty athletic representative have given him experience with both the law school and with issues and people that span the university."

Worthen said he is grateful for Hansen's leadership and legacy as dean of the law school. He added that Hansen has made his new job both easier and harder.

"It's easier in that he's been successful at creating a productive atmosphere and using our resources and finding new resources," Worthen said. "It's harder because he'll leave big shoes to step into."

The average tenure nationally for a law school dean is five years. Not only did Hansen serve as dean for 15 years, but he also was the associate dean for 15 years prior to that.

"It's been a wonderful privilege and a marvelous experience," Hansen said. "I've enjoyed almost every minute of it."

Among the highlights during Hansen's tenure were additions to the law library and the establishment of the BYU International Center for Law and Religion Studies as well as the World Family Policy Center, Hansen said.

Worthen earned a degree in political science from BYU in 1979 and later graduated No. 1 in his class from the BYU law school in 1982.

From 1983-84, Worthen served as a law clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Byron R. White. He joined the BYU law faculty in 1987 and was a Fulbright scholar at the University of Chile Law School in Santiago during fall semester, 1994.

Worthen currently serves as chairman of the Utah State Constitutional Revision Commission and is a member of the Arizona State Bar Association. He is a nationally recognized expert on American Indian law and the impact of law on indigenous peoples.

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E-mail: jeffc@desnews.com