Sylvester to lead faculty research and development

July 29, 2008

Professor Douglas Sylvester of the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at ASU has been appointed associate dean for faculty research and development by the college’s dean, Paul Schiff Berman.<separator></separator>In his new role, Sylvester will work to build the most productive environment possible for fostering and disseminating faculty scholarship. This will include organizing various speaker series, overseeing faculty travel to participate in scholarly activities, helping to mentor junior faculty, and seeking innovative ways to increase the scholarly visibility of the faculty, Berman says.<separator></separator>“Doug Sylvester is both a serious scholar and an innovative institution-builder,” says Berman of his first appointee since assuming the position of dean July 1. “I have no doubt that he will quickly become a fundamental part of building here, at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, the new ‘gold standard’ for 21st century legal education that ASU President (Michael) Crow and I envision.”<separator></separator>Sylvester, who is a faculty fellow in the college’s Center for the Study of Law, Science and Technology, says scholarship is the key to a great law school.<separator></separator>“Promoting faculty scholarship makes for better teaching, increases the law school’s reputation, and allows us to attract and retain distinguished scholars,” he says. “Those who know ASU have long been aware that our faculty is tremendously productive and innovative in their research. My job is to make sure that more people know about all that we do here and to make it easier for everyone to engage in research and scholarship.”<separator></separator>Sylvester, who joined the college in 2002, publishes, lectures and teaches on issues of e-commerce, intellectual property law and commercialization, international law, international relations, legal history and privacy.