The First African American Dean of the College of Law at Georgia State University

LaVonda N. Reed has been named dean of the College of Law at Georgia State University. She will be the college’s seventh dean and the first African American to hold the position. Professor Reed has been serving as associate provost for faculty affairs at Syracuse University. She joined the faculty at Syracuse University College of Law in 2006. Her research and teaching are in the areas of wills and trusts, property, and communications regulatory law and policy.

“To join this distinctive research institution in a vibrant city is an honor and privilege,” said Professor Reed. “I look forward to leading the College of Law in positively impacting legal education and the profession and to meeting the demands of a changing world, while providing educational access to those who want to study and learn at Georgia State University College of Law.”

Prior to her appointment at Syracuse University in 2006, Professor Reed was on the faculty of the Louis D. Brandeis School of Law at the University of Louisville. Earlier, she was a judicial clerk for Donald W. VanArtsdalen of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and practiced communications and corporate law with the international firm of Paul Hastings LLP.

Professor Reed holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Virginia. She earned a juris doctorate from the University of Southern California Gould School of Law.