USC has whittled down its candidates for the law school dean to three.
The finalists for the position include:
— Stephen W. Mazza, the interim dean of the University of Kansas School of Law.
— Susan M. Richey, the associate dean at the University of New Hampshire School of Law.
— Robert M. Wilcox, the associate dean for Academic Affairs here at USC.
Eliminated from contention were David S. Caudill and Scott N. Schools. The three candidates will soon return for another visit, said Charles Bierbauer, head of the search committee and dean of the College of Mass Communication and Information Studies.
Bierbauer’s search committee previously reviewed 30 applicants and selected five top candidates, who came for a campus visit earlier this semester. The new dean will replace Walter “Jack” Pratt, who leaves at the end of this academic year. The new dean will take over a school that has struggled in recent years with a deteriorating building and a lack of leadership and vision. Those concerns were highlighted in a national report last year, and the school dropped out of national rankings.