Wendy Hensel and Michael Hunter Schwartz.

At least five deans are trading in their law school duties this summer to take on larger roles within their universities—on a temporary basis.

Law deans at the University of Oklahoma, the University of Nebraska, Georgia State University, Santa Clara University, and the University of the Pacific have each been tapped to take on campuswide roles in the interim while permanent replacements are found.

Although the ascension of law deans to university provost and president roles isn't unheard of, it's unusual to see so many law deans elevated to central administration positions in the span of a several months.

In the heady days for legal education in 2010, when students flocked to law school amid the recession, quite a few law school leaders made that transition, including former Pepperdine University School of Law dean Kenneth Starr who left to take the top spot at Baylor University. At the time, many law schools were reliable money generators for their larger campuses. But the trend of hiring law deans to run university campuses slowed during legal education's downturn, which began in 2011.

Perhaps none will face bigger challenges than longtime University of Oklahoma law dean Joseph Harroz, who took over as interim president May 17,  just days after former president James Gallogly resigned after less than a year in the job amid multiple controversies spanning from the racial climate on campus to budget woes. To make matters worse, U.S. New & World Report this month stripped the University of Oklahoma from its college rankings after the university admitted to inflating alumni-giving data over the past 20 years. Harroz has led the law school since 2010.

“In his eight years as dean of the [University of Oklahoma College of Law], Joe has proven himself an effective leader and administrator with a collaborative leadership style that helped the school achieve distinction in virtually everything it does—from rankings, student success and being best-value, to volunteerism, fundraising and innovation,” said Leslie Rainbolt-Forbes, chair of the university's board of regents, at the time of Harroz' appointment.

Meanwhile, Michael Hunter Schwartz, dean at the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law for the past two years, will become the university's interim provost July 1. He has led the law school since 2017. University officials announced the appointment in March.

Schwartz said in an interview Wednesday that law deans regularly deal with articulate faculty who are willing to share their views, which helps prepare them for the faculty governance roles of university presidents and provosts.

“I also think law schools were somewhat the canaries in the coal mine for challenges that are hitting colleges and universities,” he said. “To the extent that law schools have successfully navigated those challenges, law deans have had to think in new and creative ways to do their jobs effectively. That could be a factor as well.”

At Georgia State University, law dean Wendy Hensel will become interim provost and senior vice president for academic affairs July 1, while the Atlanta campus conducts a national serve for a permanent provost. Hensel has helmed the law school since 2017. Current provost Risa Palm announced last fall that she would step down at the end of the current academic year, and the university's initial national search for her replacement was unsuccessful, officials said this month.

“Wendy, however, is an outstanding scholar and academic leader, and she possesses all of the talents, qualities and experience we need in a provost,” reads a May 13 announcement from university president Mark Becker.

And on May 2, the University of Nebraska announced that law dean Richard Moberly will become interim executive vice-chancellor of its flagship Lincoln, Nebraska, campus June 1. In that post, Moberly will be the university's second in command and will oversee its nine colleges and its graduate programs. He has led the University of Nebraska College of Law since 2016, after his predecessor Susan Poser left to become the provost at the University of Illinois-Chicago.

“Richard is widely respected on campus and across higher education,” said Chancellor Ronnie Green in an announcement of the move. “He understands our university and is an experienced and decisive leader. I'm excited that Richard has agreed to step into this role because I know he's going to do a great job.”

In March, officials at Santa Clara University announced that law dean Lisa Kloppenberg will begin serving as interim provost this summer, when outgoing provost Dennis Jacobs departs to Fordham University.