Kent D. Syverud
Dean and
Ethan A. H. Shepley University Professor
Office: Anheuser-Busch Hall, Room 402
Phone: (314) 935-6420
E-mail: syverud@wulaw.wustl.edu
Assistant: Sharon Strathman,
Director of Administrative Affairs
- Curriculum Vitae [view]
(For the most recent list of publications and activities, please see the current CV.) - Publications [view]
Courses Taught
Civil Procedure
Insurance Law
Negotiation
Professional Responsibility
Education
B.S.F.S. 1977 Georgetown; M.A. (Economics)
J.D. University of Michigan Law School 1981
Profile
Kent Syverud is Dean of the Washington University School of Law and the Ethan A. H. Shepley University Professor. Before joining the Washington University faculty in 2006, Kent D. Syverud served as Dean of the Vanderbilt Law School from 1997 to June 2005 where he was the Garner Anthony Professor of Law. He established a reputation as a prominent scholar in complex litigation, insurance law, and civil procedure at Vanderbilt and at the University of Michigan Law School, where he taught from 1987 to 1997. He also practiced law at Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering in Washington, D.C. and clerked for Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. His scholarship includes research on legal education as well as empirical studies of civil jury trials and the settlements that precede them. His most recent articles are "How Deans (and Presidents) Should Quit," Journal of Legal Education (2007), and "Lessons from Working for Sandra Day O'Connor," Stanford Law Review (2006).
A renowned teacher, Professor Syverud won outstanding teaching awards at both Vanderbilt and Michigan. His scholarly work includes articles on teaching. In 2005, Dean Syverud was the Mark and Beth Goldberg Distinguished Visiting Professor at Cornell Law School. He was also a visiting professor at the University of Pennsylvania in 1997 and at the University of Tokyo in 1993. He has served as president of the American Law Deans Association and the Southeastern Association of Law Schools. He chaired the Board of Trustees of the Law School Admission Council from 2005-2007. He was the editor of the Journal of Legal Education from 1998-2004.
Dean Syverud is married to Dr. Ruth Chi-fen Chen and has three sons: Steven, Brian and David.