First Black dean of John Marshall law school - Speaking Of People - Brief Article

Ebony, Jan, 2004

PATRICIA MELL is the first African-American and the first female dean of the John Marshall Law School in Chicago. Founded in 1899, the John Marshall Law School currently has an enrollment of 1,500 students and 54 full-time and 242 adjunct faculty members. A Cleveland native, Mell graduated with honors from Wellesley College and earned her law degree from Case Western Reserve University Law School.

Prior to her appointment, she served as an assistant attorney general for the Ohio Attorney General's office and was corporation counsel for the Ohio Secretary of State's office. Mell, who lives in Chicago, is married to Dr. Michael Steven Ragland, and she has three stepchildren.