TU Law School Dean to Step Down
By APRIL MARCISZEWSKI World Staff Writer
University of Tulsa law school Dean Robert Butkin said Thursday that he will step down to become a full-time, tenured law professor so he can spend more time with his wife and three daughters, ages 2, 3 and 5.
Butkin’s tenure as dean will end June 30. He started the job in June 2005, replacing Martin Belsky, who was dean for nine years until fall 2004, when he was removed and placed among the faculty as a result of “policy differences” with the university’s top academic administrator, Belsky said at the time.
The university’s president and provost are discussing Butkin’s replacement, a news release indicates.
A TU spokesman said a timeline for choosing a dean is being worked out but that the university does not have anyone in mind for the job.
President Steadman Upham said in the news release, “Robert brought much-needed credibility to the College of Law at a critical juncture in its history, and the trustees and I will be forever indebted to him.”
Butkin said he is proud of the law school’s accomplishments, including consistently good bar-exam passage rates, students’ increased pro-bono work, guest speakers who are top legal scholars, and students who are increasingly well-qualified.
Upham praised Butkin for raising more than $15 million for student and faculty support.
Butkin was Oklahoma’s state treasurer from 1995 to 2005 and previously was an Oklahoma assistant attorney general and an associate attorney for a Washington, D.C., law firm.
He received a bachelor’s degree from Yale College and a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania.
Two years ago, when he took the job as dean, he said he eventually wanted to teach. The timing of his decision is not significant, he said; rather, he and his wife periodically evaluate their lives and the balance between professional work and family time.
“I have loved the job,” he said. “I am honored to have had the opportunity.”
April Marciszewski 581-8475
april.marciszewski@tulsaworld.com
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