After serving 10 years as the dean of the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law, Patricia White will end her term on July 1.
Though White will leave her spot as dean, she will not leave the school altogether. Next year she plans to return to teaching.
Because of White's contributions to the law school, there will be a scholarship in her name funded by the Law Society of ASU.
Faculty at the law school said they would miss White most for her leadership and the accessibility she provided them.
"She had a very successful deanship and lots of good things happened since she's been here," said Andrew Askland, director of the Center for the Study of Law Science and Technology. "People are very grateful for everything she has done."
Askland added that White's creative ability to handle tough situations and use unconventional means to achieve goals made her invaluable to the school.
"Dean White was very supportive of scholarship and essentially encouraged the faculty to ask for what they needed," Askland said. "She would do what she needed to accomplish what the faculty needed."
White holds bachelor's master's and juris doctorate degrees from the University of Michigan and practiced law in Washington D.C. where she specialized in tax law. She has been a faculty member at Georgetown University, the University of Michigan and the University of Utah, according to the ASU Web site.
White said in an e-mail that she knows her family and friends made enormous personal sacrifices in order for her to do the job to the best of her ability.
She added that she is very grateful to have held the position.
"It was a great privilege to be dean," White said.
Lindsay Olivarez, a law student, said that White has elevated the status of the college.
"The law school has gone from a regionally recognized to a nationally recognized institution during Dean White's tenure because of her tireless efforts toward the programs, faculty and student body," she said. "She will be greatly missed as dean but will no doubt become a favorite professor when she returns."
White's successor will be named before the start of the fall semester.
Reach the reporter at: kelsey.tomlinson@asu.edu.
