More than a year after the permanent dean stepped down, Emory University School of Law is officially on the hunt for his successor.

Dwight McBride, Emory's provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, has announced a search advisory committee that will be led by Erika James, dean of the university's Goizueta Business School and professor of organization and management. The 13-person committee includes Emory faculty, students, staff and alumni.

The university will work with executive search consultants John Thornburgh and Werner Boel of Witt/Kieffer, McBride's announcement said.

“There are many critical decisions to be made in the coming academic year concerning Emory's future direction, and chief among those is this selection of the next dean of Emory Law,” it said. “Emory community input will be critical to making this search successful.”

Thornburgh and Boel, as well as the search advisory committee, will schedule town hall meetings and other events to hear from Emory Law community members and others about what they think are the most important attributes for the next dean.

The most recent permanent dean of Emory Law was Robert Schapiro, who had led the law school for about five years when he stepped down in July 2017 to return to teaching.

James Hughes Jr., Emory Law's associate dean for academic affairs, has been serving as interim dean since early September 2017.

Further information about the town hall events, as well as the status of the search, can be found at https://provost.emory.edu/work/initiatives/executive-search-law-dean.html