Photo by S . J . Quinney College of Law .
Introducing Amelia Rinehart
By James Jolly
The new William J . Maier Jr . Dean of the West Virginia University ( WVU ) College of Law is a leader in legal education who started out as a NASA engineer . Amelia Rinehart took the helm of the state ’ s only law school as its 18th dean on June 30 , 2021 . She comes to the Mountain State from the University of Utah S . J . Quinney College of Law , where she most recently served for two years as the associate dean for academic affairs .
Rinehart joined Utah ’ s faculty in 2010 and earned tenure and promotion to full professor in 2015 . Her prior senior administration roles provided her with significant operational experience , including collecting and reporting data for accreditation and ranking bodies , implementing new approaches to recruitment and communications , overseeing departmental budgets , building relationships with donors and alumni and revising curriculum , faculty governance and decision-making policies .
Her scholarship focuses on patent law and policy , technology transfer and patent licensing . During her tenure at Quinney , Rinehart also engaged in collaborative and entrepreneurial efforts throughout the University of Utah . For example , as a faculty member for Quinney ’ s Center for Law and Biomedical
Sciences , she forged a relationship with the University of Utah ’ s Center for Medical Innovation to enable law students to work with Utah graduate students in medicine , biomedical engineering and business to develop commercialization strategies and draft patent applications for their early stage inventions .
Rinehart was also instrumental in leading the transition to virtual education throughout the COVID-19 pandemic . Working with other leaders within the college , she ensured faculty access to appropriate teaching resources , implemented online and alternative exams and executed multiple curricular and schedule changes to meet the unique challenges of maintaining an accredited professional program while dealing with an external crisis that impacted faculty , staff and students .
Recognizing that the WVU College of Law commits itself to preparing lawyers for a transformative career in a changing and challenging world and has long exemplified in its legal education program the university ’ s values of service , curiosity , respect , accountability and appreciation , Rinehart plans to spend the beginning of her tenure at WVU meeting with stakeholders and learning as much as she can about the law school and the university and its mission to serve the state and the region . Then , she will focus on strategic plans for sustainable growth and success in ways that never stray far from those values .
Despite the time spent in academia , Rinehart is still a registered patent attorney . She was drawn to the law after first working as an experimental engineer at NASA ’ s Johnson Space Center in Houston , TX .
As an experimental engineer , she worked with NASA scientists to design and build support technology necessary to conduct life science experiments on astronauts sent to live on the International Space Station . While working with patent counsel , she soon realized she preferred describing technology as compared to building it . She went on to earn her Juris Doctor from the University of Chicago in 2002 .
As a patent attorney , Rinehart engaged in patent litigation , licensing and procurement practice before the U . S . Patent and Trademark Office , first at Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP in New York and Jones Walker LP in Baton Rouge , LA . After several years , Rinehart began her career in higher education as a visiting assistant professor of law at Florida State University .
She holds bachelor ’ s and master ’ s degrees in biomedical engineering from Tulane University . She grew up in a small town in Louisiana and credits her upbringing with giving her the core values shared by West Virginians , including a commitment to service , respect for others , change through innovation and an appreciation for community .
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