May 2, 2014 (Santa Barbara & Ventura) The Santa Barbara & Ventura Colleges of Law (COL) Board of Trustees is pleased to announce two exciting changes in the institution’s executive leadership. Heather Georgakis, J.D., who has led COL for 13 years, will step down as President and continue in her role as Dean and Professor of Law, a move that allows her to focus more exclusively on academic programs and student success. Dr. Charles McClintock, an accomplished professor and dean who has served on the COL Board of Trustees as well as the Substantive Change committee of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), will take over the helm as President on June 16.

McClintock is Dean Emeritus at Fielding Graduate University in Santa Barbara, Calif., and currently serves as Director of the Institute for Social Innovation and Professor of Human and Organizational Development. He is also a Professor Emeritus at Cornell University, and has held visiting faculty positions at Stanford University and University of California, Santa Cruz.

COL Board of Trustees Chair-elect Dr. George Haynes said the leadership change represents an exciting new era of service, opportunity, and growth for COL and its students. “The law school has made remarkable strides in recent years and we are confident that, under the dynamic leadership team of President-elect McClintock and Dean Georgakis, it will continue to enhance its vital contributions to the Santa Barbara and Ventura legal communities,” he said.

Dean Georgakis, a graduate of UCLA Law School and a former partner in the Santa Barbara firm of Archbald & Spray, has been affiliated with COL since 1987. She has served as Dean over two terms (1996-2001 and 2006-present) and, since 2011, has held a dual role as the law school’s first President. Under her leadership, the law school launched an online Master of Legal Studies (M.L.S.) program and numerous student-focused initiatives in the Juris Doctor (J.D.) program, including legal internships, academic advisor services, expanded writing curriculum, integrated bar review, level-pay tuition pricing, and a Restorative Justice project. She was instrumental in the law school’s 2010 affiliation with the TCS Education System and in its decision to seek candidacy for regional accreditation, an ongoing effort.

According to Dean Georgakis, the appointment of Dr. McClintock is a momentous opportunity for COL. “Charles McClintock is an experienced, energetic, and insightful leader and I am delighted that, with my encouragement, he has accepted COL’s presidency. As Dean and Chief Academic Officer, I look forward to working with Dr. McClintock to achieve the goals of our Strategic Plan, while concentrating on my professional passion, which is the academic success and satisfaction of our talented students.”

President-elect McClintock did his undergraduate study at Occidental College and earned a Ph.D. in social psychology from the State University at New York at Buffalo. He has extensive professional writing and public speaking experience that focuses on graduate education, online learning, program evaluation, and evidence-based organizational development. He has worked with colleges and universities, social sector organizations, government agencies, businesses, and philanthropic organizations.

“The Colleges of Law is a tremendous community resource for Santa Barbara and Ventura counties,” said Dr. McClintock. “I am honored to have the opportunity to support the long tradition of offering affordable and accessible legal education to residents of our area and strengthening our community through the service of COL graduates in legal practice and leadership in judicial, government, nonprofit, and business sectors.”

About The Santa Barbara & Ventura Colleges of Law

The Santa Barbara & Ventura Colleges of Law was founded in 1969 with a clear mission in mind—to prepare leaders, for law and law-related professions, through graduate-level legal education that emphasizes academic excellence and accessibility. Today, the nonprofit Colleges of Law are widely recognized as being among the state’s premier regional law schools with Juris Doctor (J.D.) and Master of Legal Studies (M.L.S.) programs that combine quality, convenience, affordability, and real-world practicality. COL is accredited by the Committee of Bar Examiners of The State Bar of California. In 2010, the law school became an affiliate partner of TCS Education System, a Chicago-based consortium of nonprofit higher education institutions devoted to graduating “change agents” in professional fields of psychology and behavioral sciences, education and human development, law and legal studies, nursing and health sciences, and organizational development.

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