Dean's Leadership Team
Annette Clark
Interim Dean and Associate Professor of Law
B.S., summa cum laude, Washington State University, 1981, Phi Beta Kappa.; M.D. with honors, University of Washington School of Medicine, 1985; J.D., summa cum laude, first in class, Seattle University School of Law, 1989, Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society; Glasgow Memorial Achievement Citation; Eloise Baird Boldt Scholar, Extern for Judge Eugene Wright, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Admitted to practice in Washington State.
Dean Clark teaches, writes and consults in the areas of medical liability and bioethics and is a frequent national and local lecturer on bioethics-related topics. Her scholarship operates at the interface of health care, law, and health policy, with a particular emphasis on end-of-life issues. She has published articles in the New York University Law Review, the Georgetown Law Journal, and the Tulane Law Review, among others.
Dean Clark served as the chief academic officer for the School of Law, overseeing the academic program, including the curriculum and centers and institutes, as well as the faculty, from 1997-2001 and then again from 2005-2009. She received the Seattle Journal for Social Justice Faculty Award in 2005, the Dean's Medal in 2006, and the Outstanding Faculty Award in December 2007. President Stephen V. Sundborg, S.J., recently named Dean Clark the 2008-09 James B. McGoldrick, S.J., Fellow, which is awarded to the faculty member or administrator who best exemplifies commitment to students and to the values of a Jesuit education. She is a member of the Washington State Society of Healthcare Attorneys and volunteers her time with the MultiCare Institutional Review Board, which is dedicated to ensuring patient safety in human subjects research, and the Safe Crossings Foundation Board, whose mission is to fund and support grief counseling for children in King County.
Paul Holland
Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Associate Professor of Law
B.A., cum laude, Harvard University, 1988; J.D., magna cum laude, New York University, 1991; L.L.M., Georgetown University, 1996
After joining the faculty in 2004 to teach in the Youth Advocacy Clinic, Professor Holland was named Director of the Ronald A. Peterson Law Clinic in 2006. As Director, he oversaw the expansion of the Clinic's offerings and its increased integration with the Legal Writing Program and other components of the Law School's curriculum. He was appointed Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in 2009.
Professor Holland continues to teach in the Youth Advocacy Clinic. He is also active in the field of juvenile justice as a scholar and policymaker. His article, Schooling Miranda: Policing Interrogation in the Twenty-First Century Schoolhouse appeared in the 2006 edition of the Loyola Law Review. Governor Christine Gregoire appointed him to the Governor's Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee in 2005 and named him Chair in 2008.
Before joining the Seattle University faculty, Professor Holland taught in clinics representing youth at Georgetown University Law Center (1994-99), Loyola University (Chicago) School of Law (1999-2001) and University of Michigan Law School (2001-04).
Donna Deming
Associate Dean for Student Affairs
B.A. Yale University, 1976. J.D., University of Pennsylvania Law School, 1979. Admitted to practice in Pennsylvania and the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania
Dean Deming oversees Admissions, Student Financial Services and Student Affairs and is responsible for enforcing school policies and the Student Conduct Code. Dean Deming also helps oversees orientation, examinations and graduation. Prior to joining the law school’s administrative staff, she was assistant dean for admission and student affairs at Temple University. A former member of the board of trustees of the Law School Admissions Council, she has also chaired the Association of American Law Schools Section on Pre-legal Education and Admission to Law School, and serves on the executive committee for the Administration of Law Schools Section. Dean Deming holds responsibility for admissions, financial aid, and student affairs. She joined the law school in 1991.
Susan K. Ahearn
Associate Dean for Advancement
A.B., Barnard College, Columbia University; M.A.T., Harvard University
Dean Ahearn oversees the development and alumni offices. She joined the law school in 2004, with over 16 years of experience at several universities and nonprofits, including other professional schools. She began her career at Georgetown University’s law school and subsequently headed the development program for the engineering school at Johns Hopkins University and later became assistant dean and director of development of the University at Buffalo’s School of Dental Medicine. While in Cincinnati, prior to moving to Seattle, she directed major gift and planned giving programs for a large hospital foundation; started a consulting firm to help nonprofits build capacity to raise philanthropic support; and served as assistant vice president and director of development for Northern Kentucky University. A member of the board of the Cincinnati Planned Giving Council, she chaired the regional Leave a Legacy initiative in partnership with the National Committee on Planned Giving. Dean Ahearn also directed fundraising efforts to restore Buffalo's Roycroft Inn, a National Trust Historic property.
Richard Bird
Associate Dean for Finance and Administration
B.A., Pacific Lutheran University, 1982; M.B.A., Pacific Lutheran University, 1984
Dean Bird oversees the Business Office, Event Administration, Faculty Administrative Assistants, Technology Helpdesk and Network Services, and is responsible for the School of Law's Finances, Sullivan Hall, and is the staff Human Resource liaison. Prior to joining the School of Law he was the Director of Auxiliary Services and Associate Director for Residential Life at Seattle University. While at Pacific Lutheran University he was a Residence Hall Director and Conference Coordinator. Dean Bird has served as an active member on University and ABA committees.
Kristin Cheney
Associate Dean for Library and Educational Technology
B.S., summa cum laude, Northern Michigan University, 1973; J.D., Seattle University School of Law, 1984; M.L.S., University of Washington 1987. Admitted to practice in Washington state.
After serving as a prosecuting attorney in Pierce and Kitsap counties, Dean Cheney returned to academia as a reference librarian/senior reference librarian at Boston University School of Law from 1987-92, where she also was an adjunct professor in legal writing from 1988-92. Subsequently she became the assistant director for public and educational services at the University of Texas School of Law from 1992-94. She joined the Seattle University School of Law as associate library director in 1994. Dean Cheney was appointed executive law librarian in 2001, law library director in 2005, and Associate Dean for Library & Educational Technology in 2007. She has taught various upper-level research courses at the law school since 1995.
Dean Cheney received the law school's 2009 Champion for Social Justice Award for her many years of service with the Seniors with Pets Assistance Program, a local nonprofit. She additionally received the Dean's Medal in 2009.
Carol T. Cochran
Assistant Dean for Admission
Pacific Lutheran University, 1991; M.A., Seattle University, 2004
Assistant Dean Cochran has worked in higher education since 1991, when she became an admission counselor at her alma mater. In 1994, she joined the staff of Seattle University School of Law as the assistant director of admission. She became the director of admission in 1999 and was appointed assistant dean in 2005. She is the advisor to the Black Law Student Association. Ms. Cochran has served on numerous information panels at the Law School Admission Council Law School Forums and has presented at the LSAC Annual Meeting and Educational Conference. She previously served on the LSAC Minority Affairs Committee for 2001-03 and was a member of the 2003 LSAC Annual Meeting and Educational Conference Planning Work Group.
Kathleen Koch
Assistant Dean for Student Financial Services
B.A., University of Puget Sound, 1975; M.A., Seattle University, 1999
Assistant Dean Koch has been involved in the financial aid field for nearly 16 years and holds many leadership positions in the field. She serves on Congressman John Sarbanes’ Education for Public Service Advisory Committee and participated in negotiated rulemaking for the College Cost Reduction and Access Act Student Loans Committee with the Department of Education. She is president of the Washington Financial Aid Association, is a Washington State Bar Foundation Loan Repayment Assistance Advisory Board member and serves on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Student Financial Aid for the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. She sits on the Presidents’ Committee and the Graduate/Professional Committee for the Western Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators and is a member of the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators and the Washington State Association of Student Employment Administrators.
Shawn Lipton
Assistant Dean for Center for Professional Development
Assistant Dean Lipton is a graduate of the University of Connecticut School of Law. Prior to attending law school, he worked and studied in Taiwan and traveled extensively throughout North and South East Asia. Before joining CPD, he was the director of Continuing Legal Education for the law school and prior to that worked as a business development manager in the dotcom world. Shawn is a certified master coach. He speaks Mandarin Chinese fluently and is proficient in Spanish.
Margaret Chon
Associate Dean for Research and Centers and Donald and Lynda Horowitz Professor for the Pursuit of Justice
A.B., Cornell University College of Arts and Science, 1979; M.H.S.A., University of Michigan School of Public Health, 1981; J.D., cum laude, University of Michigan Law School, 1986
Our Associate Dean for Research and Centers is Margaret Chon, who is also the Donald & Lynda Horowitz Professor for the Pursuit of Justice. Since joining the Seattle University School of Law faculty in 1996, she has directed the Center for the Study of Justice in Society at Seattle University, and has been a dedicated teacher as well as a prolific scholar in both intellectual property and critical race theory. She has also been active in many community and professional organizations.
Associate Dean Chon is responsible for the law school's scholarly speakers' series, workshops, and other activities designed to enhance the intellectual life of the law school. She also works closely with the other associate deans, alumni, faculty, staff and students to raise the law school's external profile. Along with the school's three faculty Center Directors (Center for Corporations, Law & Society; Center for Global Justice; and the Korematsu Center for Law & Equality), her primary role is to nurture the law school's academic excellence and showcase its rapidly growing scholarly reputation.
Lily Kahng
Associate Dean for Faculty Development and Associate Professor of Law
A.B., Princeton University, 1980; J.D., Columbia University School of Law, 1984; Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar; LL.M., New York University School of Law, 1991
Prior to coming to the Pacific Northwest, Professor Kahng was associate professor of law at Cornell Law School and was on leave from her faculty duties there to serve three years as attorney advisor in the Office of Tax Legislative Counsel in the U.S. Department of the Treasury. She was acting assistant professor at New York University School of Law from 1991-93. Before earning her LL.M., she joined Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, New York, as an associate and later became a vice president at Salomon Brothers, Inc., New York. She is a frequent presenter at national conferences. Professor Kahng joined the faculty in 2001.
John B. Kirkwood
Associate Dean for Faculty Development and Associate Professor of Law
A.B., magna cum laude, Yale University, 1970; M.P.P., cum laude, Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government, 1974; J.D., cum laude, Harvard Law School, 1974, Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review projects editor
John B. Kirkwood is an Associate Professor at Seattle University School of Law, an Editor of Research in Law and Economics, and a Senior Fellow of the American Antitrust Institute. He has edited two books and written numerous articles, including an article on buyer power that was quoted by the Supreme Court and an article on the goals of the antitrust laws, with Robert Lande, that was published by the Notre Dame Law Review. He has spoken frequently at conferences on antitrust law and testified at the hearings on predatory pricing held by the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission. After graduating magna cum laude and with Honors of Exceptional Distinction in Economics from Yale, he received a masters degree in public policy from the Kennedy School and a law degree from Harvard, where he was an editor of the Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review. Before joining the faculty at Seattle University, he directed two antitrust policy offices and the premerger notification program at the Federal Trade Commission in Washington, D.C.; managed antitrust cases and investigations at the FTC's Seattle office; and taught antitrust at both the University of Washington and Seattle University. He received the Outstanding Faculty Award in 2006 and the Dean's Medal in 2007.
