UI interim law dean to remain in post for two years following failed search

IOWA CITY — Longtime University of Iowa professor and interim College of Law dean Todd Pettys will continue leading the college for the next two years following a failed national search that he co-chaired last year.

“Todd Pettys has been named dean of the University of Iowa College of Law, effective July 1,” the UI Office of Strategic Communication reported this week. “Pettys’ appointment is for a term of up to two years. In alignment with long-term planning for the college, the university will launch a national search for his successor prior to the conclusion of his term.”

Pettys — who joined the UI law faculty in 1999 and has been chair in civil litigation since 2009 — was announced as interim UI College of Law dean in November, just as the national search he was coleading was culminating with three finalist visits to campus.

In making that interim appointment, to be effective Jan. 1, UI officials said, “Pettys will remain co-chair of the committee and will not be a candidate for the deanship.”

Just 10 days after the last of the three finalists visited campus Dec. 9, the university reported none had been selected.

“After evaluating campus feedback and consulting with the search committee, university leadership determined none of the candidates was the right fit for the position and decided to pause the search,” according to a Dec. 19 news release.

With Pettys in place as interim — allowing outgoing UI College of Law dean Kevin Washburn to step down and join the UI faculty Dec. 31 — the university announced plans to resume the search in the coming fall.

“While serving as interim dean of the College of Law, Todd has demonstrated strong, collaborative leadership that has guided the college through a seamless transition,” UI Executive Vice President and Provost Kevin Kregel said this week in a news release about the decision to remove the interim label from Pettys’ appointment and keep him in place for two years.

“After conversations with many in the college, it became clear that Todd’s deep institutional knowledge, national reputation, and commitment to the Iowa Law community make him the right person to lead at this time.”

In his new role, Pettys’ salary will increase from $351,2020 to $360,002.

Washburn public service

Washburn’s resignation followed a six-year stint that included a pandemic and several national appointments that had him splitting time at certain points.

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“After consulting with the provost and my management team, I have decided to accept this temporary public service assignment,” Washburn wrote in a November 2020 email to colleagues about his appointment as captain of the of the Department of the Interior Agency Review Team for the Joe Biden-Kamala Harris Transition in Washington, D.C. “For the next few weeks, I will be taking leave from the College of Law, though I will continue to be available for urgent matters. The leave is only temporary.”

Months later, in October 2021, a federal-district court appointed Washburn to “create trusts and direct the distribution of hundreds of millions of dollars of settlement funds arising from opioid litigation against Purdue Pharma, Johnson & Johnson, and several other defendants.” In that role, Washburn had to distribute funds to tribal governments “for prevention and abatement of opioid problems in tribal communities nationwide.”

In response to The Gazette’s request for emails and communication about how Washburn’s role in the opioid settlement affected his UI work, officials said responsive records are confidential.

Washburn in May 2024 announced plans to step down — committing to stay through the end of the year. In making the change from dean to professor, his salary dropped from $411,700 to $292,664.

‘Steady leadership’

The university last July appointed a 10-person search committee to find Washburn’s replacement — naming as co-chairs Pettys and Graduate College Dean Amanda Haertling Thein.

Other committee members included UI law professors, staff, alum, and a student. They used the WittKieffer firm to help with the search that in early December brought in three finalists — including the interim dean of the University of Toledo College of Law; a law professor at the University of Oklahoma College of Law; and the dean and professor of law at the University of Missouri at Kansas City School of Law.

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The university did not provide further details about why none of the finalists were chosen. In announcing a longer delay before reviving the search, UI officials this week said Pettys “has provided steady leadership and continued to foster the college’s strengths in legal scholarship, teaching, and public service.”

“I’m grateful for Todd’s willingness to step into this role,” Kregel said. “He has repeatedly demonstrated his dedication to the university and to ensuring the College of Law is well-positioned for long-term success.”

Pettys — a national expert in constitutional law, federal courts, and the U.S. Supreme Court — served as the college’s associate dean for faculty from 2011 to 2015 and is an elected member of the American Law Institute.

Prior to his time at Iowa, Pettys clerked for Judge Francis Murnaghan, Jr., of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and practiced law at Perkins Coie LLP in Seattle, Washington — where he earned a bachelor’s at Seattle Pacific University before getting his J.D. from the University of North Carolina School of Law.

“I am humbled by the opportunity to continue leading Iowa Law during this important time,” Pettys said in a statement. “I look forward to working with our extraordinary community of faculty, staff, students, and alumni to build on our strengths and continue moving the college forward.”

Vanessa Miller covers higher education for The Gazette.

Comments: (319) 339-3158; vanessa.miller@thegazette.com