W. Gary Vause Named Vice President and Dean of Stetson University College of Law

Business Wire, May 14, 1999

DELAND, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 14, 1999--

Stetson University President H. Douglas Lee announced today that, after conducting a national search, Dr. W. Gary Vause has been named vice president and dean of the Stetson University College of Law in St. Petersburg, effective June 1, 1999.

Vause, an expert in international trade and investment law, is currently the associate dean of graduate and international programs and a tenured member of the faculty at the Stetson University College of Law.

Vause, 56, will replace Lizabeth A. Moody who, after five years as vice president and dean, is resigning at the end of the month to complete several projects with national law organizations and then will return to teaching at the Stetson law school.

"We considered some of the best legal education professionals in the country, and Gary is clearly the best choice to lead the Stetson University College of Law into the new century," Lee said. "Gary is a seasoned lawyer, valued administrator and renowned scholar who has helped establish an international reputation for our law school. He has worked on every significant project at the law school for nearly 25 years and the support he has among the faculty, administration, alumni and students is truly amazing."

Vause has served as an associate dean, assistant dean and interim dean during his time at Stetson. He developed the Master of Laws (LL.M.) in International Law and Business Program, along with various foreign study and exchange programs. He has played a leading role in other innovative programs, including the development of the joint juris doctor/master of business administration (J.D./M.B.A.) degree and part-time evening division planned for a location in Tampa.

"The legal profession has changed dramatically in recent years; legal educators must have a global focus and be flexible and responsive to remain competitive," Vause said. "We'll work hard to continue to make this wonderful law school as truly outstanding and distinctive as our students and alumni deserve."

Vause said that he is committed to maintaining Stetson's role as the premier training ground for trial lawyers, while improving strong preparation in negotiation, mediation and arbitration.

Vause holds the doctor of juridical science and master of laws degrees from the University of Virginia, and the juris doctor and bachelor of arts in political science degrees from the University of Connecticut. He received a certificate in Mandarin Chinese from Yale University and also is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese.

His international experience has been a hallmark of his varied career, with extensive experience in China, where he was a Fulbright Distinguished Scholar; Estonia, where he is the only United States member on the International Advisory Board for the Law School at Concordia International University; and Brazil, where he was named a visiting professor at the Federal University of Ceara. Vause is the founding director of Stetson's Summer Abroad Program in Tallinn, Estonia.

Vause has been a prolific author of books and articles on law and business for more than 30 years. His most recent effort, The 100-Year History of Stetson University College of Law, will be published this year.

An active member of the Florida Bar Association since 1975, Vause formerly headed his own law firm in Connecticut. A member of the prestigious National Academy of Arbitrators, he has served as a mediator and arbitrator in labor-management disputes for 30 years.

Founded in 1900, the Stetson University College of Law is Florida's first law school and will celebrate its centennial in 2000. With an enrollment of about 680 full-time students, Stetson offers the juris doctor (J.D.) degree and the master of laws (LL.M.) in international law and business.

Florida's first private university, Stetson ranks fourth among the South's top regional universities in U.S. News and World Report's 1999 special edition, "America's Best Colleges." In addition to the College of Law in St. Petersburg, Stetson has a college of arts and sciences and schools of business and music on its main campus in DeLand.