To our campus community,
I am thrilled to announce that Professor Carolyn Broering-Jacobs and Professor Brian Ray will serve as Co-Interim Deans of the College of Law, bringing decades of combined experience, leadership, and innovation to the role.
Professor Carolyn Broering-Jacobs has been a valued member of the CSU College of Law faculty since 2000. She currently serves as Associate Dean for Academic and Student Affairs, a role she has held since 2018 and has long been recognized for her commitment to student success and academic excellence. Her teaching and mentorship span a broad array of courses, including legal research and writing, appellate advocacy, transactional drafting, torts and clinical instruction in both civil litigation and transactional law.
Professor Broering-Jacobs has significantly influenced the law school’s curricular and co-curricular programs, serving for many years as the faculty advisor to the Moot Court Program and leading numerous teams to national honors. A pioneer in legal education innovation, she developed the College’s first approved online course in 2014 and helped establish the framework for future online offerings. Her leadership has shaped institutional development efforts, including strategic planning and accreditation reviews and she has played a key role in expanding enrollment through her admissions work. In 2018, she received CSU’s Distinguished Faculty Teaching Award in recognition of her exceptional contributions to legal education.
Before joining academia, she clerked for Judge Sam H. Bell of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio and practiced commercial litigation at BakerHostetler. She holds a J.D. from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law and a B.A. from the University of Notre Dame.
Professor Brian Ray, the Leon M. and Gloria Plevin Professor of Law, joined the CSU College of Law faculty in 2006. He most recently served as Associate Dean for Faculty Development and Online Programs, where he played a pivotal role in launching the College’s Online J.D. program—an initiative that has nearly tripled enrollment in the part-time division. A nationally recognized expert in cybersecurity, data privacy and AI law and policy, Professor Ray has led or collaborated on interdisciplinary research teams that have secured over $4.5 million in grant funding. He is the founding director of both the Center for Cybersecurity and Privacy Protection and the Online Master of Legal Studies in Cybersecurity and Data Privacy. He also is an expert in comparative constitutional law and spent 2013 as a Fulbright Scholar in South Africa conducting research for his book Engaging with Social Rights (Cambridge Univ. Press 2016).
Professor Ray has held influential service and leadership positions at both the College and University levels, including multiple terms as Chair of the CSU Faculty Budget Committee and long-standing service as Chair of the Law School Budget Committee. He was the only faculty member appointed to CSU’s “Pathway to 2020” strategic planning team. He serves on the CyberOhio Advisory Board and the Ohio Attorney General’s Facial Recognition Task Force.
Before joining CSU, Professor Ray clerked for Judge Alan E. Norris on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and for Justice Richard J. Goldstone on the South African Constitutional Court. He practiced law at Jones Day and holds a J.D. from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, an M.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and a B.A. from the University of Notre Dame. He was a Fulbright Fellow at Kyoto University in 1995.
Together, Professors Broering-Jacobs and Ray bring a collaborative spirit, proven leadership and deep commitment to the mission of CSU College of Law. Their combined strengths will provide a steady hand as the College advances its strategic priorities and prepares for the next chapter of innovation and excellence in legal education.
Regards,
Nigamanth Sridhar, Ph.D.
Senior Vice President and Provost