“It is an honor for me to begin serving as managing director of the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar, especially during this time in legal and higher education,” Rosato Perea said. “I look forward to working with the council, staff and other stakeholders to ensure quality in legal education and engage on issues of concern to all of us, including academic freedom, on-line education and preparation for practice.”
In the coming months, the council will be faced with making decisions on changes involving several standards, including learning outcomes and tenure and security of position, as well as to revising the diversity and inclusion standard in light of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in June 2023 striking down race-based college admission policies. Then council also will be studying standards changes that would be needed to accredit fully online law schools.
Besides council and section responsibilities, Rosato Perea also will be responsible for managing ABA relations with other legal education organizations and the U.S. Department of Education. Having served 16 years as a law dean, she is a longtime advocate of student engagement and professionalism and was one of only a small number of Latina law school deans in the nation. In her current job, Rosato Perea is the first woman to serve as head of ABA legal education.
