The National Jurist has released its list of the 20 Most Influential People in Legal Education, and Texas A&M School of Law Dean Robert B. Ahdieh took the fifth-place spot. The list features national figures in legal practice and education, who are advancing positive change in the field. The list is cultivated and narrowed down through a nomination process and voting by law school deans nationwide.
This was Dean Ahdieh’s first appearance on the list, rounding off a growing list of achievements since his arrival at Texas A&M School of Law in 2018. During his tenure, the law school’s trajectory has been striking – moving up more than 50 places in the U.S. News & World Report rankings, currently the 29th nationally among law schools. This past year, the law school also achieved the nation’s highest incoming GPA and highest placement rate in “gold standard” employment, as well as the highest bar passage rate in Texas.
Dean Ahdieh has also overseen a period of exponential growth in Texas A&M School of Law’s graduate programs – which now enroll more than 1,200 students. In service of Texas A&M’s land, sea, and space grant mission, that group includes more than a thousand non-lawyer professionals in the healthcare, energy, finance, and other industries, who are pursuing the law school’s Master of Legal Studies – which offers them the training in law, regulation, and compliance they need to navigate an increasingly complex business landscape.
Texas A&M also broke ground on Texas A&M-Fort Worth, a several-hundred-million-dollar investment by the Texas A&M University System, the City of Fort Worth, Tarrant County, and multiple corporate partners, aimed at impacting the educational and economic landscape of the region. Dean Ahdieh has recently been appointed Chief Operating Officer of the new campus.
"It’s an honor to be recognized among this striking group of legal professionals, who are spearheading innovation in legal education, "said Dean Ahdieh. “In helping to advance Texas A&M Law’s historic strides, my work has mostly been to channel the tireless energy and passion of our faculty, staff, students, and constituents – including the Fort Worth community. Together, they have made the law school’s recent achievements possible.”
The latest list is available here.