Nancy Perkins Steps into Interim Law School Dean Role

Law Professor Nancy Perkins has been named interim dean of the School of Law, while a national search is conducted for a new dean. She replaces outgoing Law Dean Ken Gormley, who is on sabbatical this semester and becomes University president on Friday, July 1.

“Professor Perkins, working with (previous) Dean Ken Gormley, was key to the positive turnaround in our School of Law,” said President Dr. Charles J. Dougherty. “She is also a first-rate scholar and teacher. We are grateful for her willingness to assume this interim deanship as we begin a search for a permanent dean.”

Perkins, who has taught at Duquesne’s law school since 1993, also serves as an academic adviser to students studying energy and environmental law and was named the Noble J. Dick Endowed Chair in Academic Leadership in 2015. In addition, she served as associate dean of academic affairs from 2009 to 2014.

“I am thrilled to assume this new and important role at the law school,” said Perkins. “During my more than two-decades long tenure at Duquesne, I’ve learned much about legal education and administration. Now, as interim dean, I have the opportunity to engage more fully with students, alumni, the local legal community and the University, all of which bring a richer context to my work.”

Perkins research and teaching covers property and environmental law, while her scholarship intersects the two topics and also focuses on sustainability, equity and feminism.

Prior to joining Duquesne, Perkins taught legal writing at Nova Southeastern Shepard Broad Law Center. She also was a member of the executive committee of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s Citizens Advisory Council.

She is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Mt. Holyoke College and a magna cum laude graduate of Nova Southeastern Shepard Broad Law Center, where she was an associate articles editor for the institution’s Law Review.