South Texas College of Law Houston on Tuesday named Michael F. Barry as the school's 11th president and dean.

Barry, who is an assistant dean and practitioner in residence at St. Mary's University School of Law in San Antonio, takes over the law school from dean Don Guter, who served in that role since 2009.

In addition to the academic experience he brings from his four-year tenure at St. Mary's law, Barry also brings 25 years of legal and business experience at Fortune 200 companies, including as senior vice president and deputy general counsel at USAA. Before that he served as director, assistant general counsel, and associate general counsel at Capital One Services.

Earlier in his career, Barry clerked for Chief Judge Gerald Bard Tjoflat of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit and Judge Royce C. Lamberth of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia before taking a senior litigation associate position at Meyer, Hendricks & Bivens in Phoenix.

“I am very much looking forward to using both the academic experience and the business experience I have develop over the years to support staff, faculty, students and the school,” Barry said. “Dean Guter has done a great job over the last 10 years and I look forward to building on that.”

One of the initiatives that Guter has overseen in his tenure involves the increase of minority enrollment from 31 percent to 45 percent. As the lack of diversity in law firms across the country continues to be a subject of lament, many are looking at the role of law schools in diversifying the pipeline.

Barry said it's important that South Texas continue to be intentional about ensuring the school matriculates a diverse student body.

“In order for us to have justice in Texas and particularly in Houston, it's important to have attorneys who are from diverse communities and who are interested in serving diverse communities,” he said.

South Texas, which is approaching its centennial anniversary, has 940 law students from 25 states and nine countries, according to data provided by the school.

“I am delighted and fully confident in turning over the reins of South Texas College of Law Houston to Mike Barry, a proven and successful leader, businessman, and scholastic innovator,” said Guter in a press release. “His impressive track record of integrity, leadership, and ingenuity will serve STCL Houston and its students well as they approach the law school's 100th year of excellence in legal education.”

Barry graduated from Yale Law School and has a master's degree in theology from the University of San Francisco and a B.A. in English and Religious Studies from the University of Virginia.