Western New England University School of Law Announces Interim Dean

SPRINGFIELD — Beth Cohen, professor in Western New England University (WNE) School of Law and former WNE Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, has been named interim dean of the School of Law by Vice President of Academic Affairs and Provost Maria Toyoda.

Cohen will provide interim leadership following the departure of current Dean Sudha Setty, who will begin her new role as dean of the City University of New York School of Law on July 1.

“Professor Cohen was the first female associate dean at our School of Law, and the longest-serving, working with three deans,” Toyoda said. “The community and I have the greatest confidence in her leadership; she’s earned our trust and proven her abilities time and again.”

A School of Law professor since 1990, Cohen has also served as director of the Legal Research and Writing Program since 1999. She was the associate dean for Academic Affairs from 2009 to 2020 and the director of the Academic Support Program from 1994 to 2008. She teaches Lawyering Skills, Externship Seminar, Professional Responsibility, and Mindfulness in Law Practice, and has written a number of articles in the areas of legal education, legal writing, civic education, and name-change law.

Cohen graduated cum laude from Suffolk University Law School and earned a diploma in Advanced International Legal Studies in Salzburg, Austria, from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge Law School. She also co-founded and co-directed the popular civic-education Mini-Law School Program at WNE.

“I’m grateful that Professor Cohen has agreed to serve as interim dean, and I look forward to working more closely with her,” Toyoda said. “She is an outstanding teacher whose service to the university is greatly appreciated. She has filled important leadership roles across the university, including serving on several university-wide committees and in her roles as faculty liaison to the First-Generation Law Student Support Group and director of the Legal Research and Writing Program.”

A search committee will be appointed to conduct a national search for a new School of Law dean. Cohen will hold her position until a new dean is appointed.