University of Maryland's lawyer gets law school post

Daily Record, The (Baltimore), Aug 16, 2006 by Cynthia Di Pasquale

After nearly 13 years as an attorney representing Maryland's public universities, Dawna M. Cobb is going to work for the client.

On Monday, she starts her new position as assistant dean for student affairs at the University of Maryland School of Law, responsible for ensuring students receive the services and support they need.

"I love the law school and the people there and I look forward to working with the students," she said. "I relish the possibility of having a role in the education of law students and future lawyers."

The position is being vacated by Tricia O'Neill, who will move to the University of Maryland central administration.

Cobb is currently deputy chief counsel for the attorney general's Educational Affairs Division, and in that role has primarily represented the University of Maryland, Baltimore and University of Maryland, Baltimore County in litigation matters.

Major cases she's worked on include Towson University v. Conte, in which the former director of the school's Regional Economic Studies Institute (RESI) sued for wrongful discharge and breach of his employment contract. That case settled last year.

In another case, Farmer v. Ramsay, she successfully defended the University of Maryland School of Medicine in a federal suit brought by a white applicant who claimed the school's race-conscious admissions policies were unconstitutional. That suit, filed in 1998, was decided in 2001 - two years before the Supreme Court's decision in Grutter v. Bollinger.

Cobb said she has handled a number of legal issues affecting student life in the state university system, such as Americans with Disabilities Act accommodations requirements and student disciplinary proceedings.

She's been thinking about a career change for several years, so when Cobb heard from two University Maryland law students working for her this summer that O'Neill was moving on, she inquired about the opening and applied.

Now just days away from starting, she's intent on maintaining the atmosphere her predecessor upheld at the school.

"I like to find ways to bring people together and build a sense of community," Cobb said. "There's already a sense of community [at the school], so I would like to take what's there and work with it and make more a sense of community for all students there - a sense of place, belonging, camaraderie and mutual support."

Intense competition

The competition for this position was intense, according to Michael Van Alstine, associate dean of faculty development.

"We had applicants from all over the country. Literally, from New York to California," Van Alstine said. "And Dawna just emerged as clear favorite."

Law Dean Karen H. Rothenberg noted that Cobb was already held in high esteem by the school.

"I've been fortunate to work with Dawna Cobb on a number of issues over the last number years and have continued to be so impressed by her professionalism and breadth of knowledge about the higher educational system," Rothenberg said. "She's been teaching at the law school as an adjunct for the last few years and she is just so well regarded by the faculty and the students and the staff here. And we're thrilled to have her become a member of our law school community."

Cobb is a graduate of Fordham University School of Law and, after a stint at what was then Piper & Marbury, began working at the attorney general's office in 1990. For the first three years she represented the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and then switched over to the educational affairs division in 1993.

While sad to be leaving the attorney general's office, she is excited to remain an active member of its rock band, which she helped found in 2000. Cobb plays the flute.