De Sailly Consulting Recruits Dean of UNSW Law & Justice
August 24, 2021 – Australian executive search firm De Sailly Consulting has placed Andrew Lynch as the new dean of the University of New South Wales (UNSW) Law & Justice in Sydney. He has been acting dean since last July when George Williams was appointed deputy vice-chancellor (planning and assurance) at UNSW.
Dr. Lynch was head of school and deputy dean for the faculty from 2017 to 2020. From 2008 to 2013, he was director of the Gilbert + Tobin Centre of Public Law at UNSW. Dr. Lynch holds his doctorate from UNSW, and has been a professor at UNSW Law & Justice since 2011.
President and vice-chancellor Ian Jacobs congratulated Dr. Lynch on the appointment and highlighted his strong connection to the university. “This is a wonderful appointment for UNSW following an extensive national and international search process,” he said. “Law & Justice is a world-class faculty with an abiding commitment to serving the needs of the local and global community, and to social justice. I am confident that Andrew will be a fervent champion of this mission, with a continuing focus on the contemporary challenges facing our society.”
“Andrew has a deep understanding of university teaching and research as well as our external partners and stakeholders,” Dr. Jacobs added. “I am grateful for his contribution as acting dean and know that he will continue to lead the faculty from strength to strength.”
Extraordinary Times
Dr. Lynch said it was an honor to be appointed dean of Law & Justice, particularly in the faculty’s 50th anniversary year. “UNSW has carved out a truly distinctive place in legal education since we welcomed our first students half a century ago,” he said. “We remain a global leader in our teaching, research and social justice work – and have been proud to welcome the bachelor of criminology and criminal justice to the faculty this year.”
“Our founding vision – that a law school should have ‘a keen concern for those on whom the law bears harshly’ – is as fresh and relevant as it ever was,” said Dr. Lynch. “We are living through extraordinary times and both locally and internationally we see enormous challenges – to the equality, welfare and security of vulnerable people, and of course to the environment which we all share. Law has a distinct and vitally important role to play in meeting these.”
Dr. Lynch said he looks forward to the Law & Justice faculty working even more closely with colleagues across UNSW and beyond on the full gamut of contemporary problems. “I also look forward to continuing our very deep engagement with the legal profession as it also undergoes significant human and technological change,” he said. “This includes supporting a more diversified workforce and inclusive culture, and examining the impact for legal practitioners, courts and the public of increasing digitization and new ways of working post-pandemic.”
Respected Recruiters
Dr. Lynch teaches and researches in the field of Australian constitutional law. His research focuses on judicial dissent and decision-making, judicial appointments, federalism and legal responses to terrorism. He is the recipient of several Australian Research Council (ARC) grants, has authored and edited 10 books and comments regularly on legal issues in the media. Dr. Lynch has been called before parliamentary and other inquiries to speak to submissions on Australia’s counter-terrorism legislative scheme, judicial regulation and other matters of public law.
UNSW Law is a top 13 global law school. Founded in 1971, the law school is at the forefront of many fields of Australian, international and comparative law, initiating research and informing practice. Its comprehensive and innovative range of degrees includes traditional areas of law as well as new and emerging fields. In 2021, UNSW Law added criminology to its programs. The law school offers education for all career stages: undergraduate law double degrees, undergraduate criminology streams, juris doctor for graduates, postgraduate coursework, postgraduate research and continuing legal education short courses.
De Sailly Consulting, founded in 2009, specializes in higher education, with a particular focus on the Asia-Pacific region. The firm, which is based in Waterloo, New South Wales sees its region as “the center of the new world, with a vital community of institutions and academic leaders who are at the forefront of transforming knowledge and education.” De Sailly was established with twin aims. The first: help the tertiary education sector grow future capability by appointing the right people to key roles. The second: assist people to realize their potential through their next career move.
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Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; and Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
