Read about the items with special meaning to her in the latest issue of “CATALYST” magazine.
Renée McDonald Hutchins, JD, returned “home” when she became the dean of the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law in 2022.
Hutchins had previously served 14 years in pivotal roles on the Maryland Carey Law faculty including as the Jacob A. France Professor of Public Interest Law, co-director of the Clinical Law Program, and founding director of the Appellate and Post-Conviction Advocacy Clinic. She left UMB in 2019 to become dean and professor of law at the University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law before being named Maryland Carey Law dean last year.
“I am so incredibly proud of this institution, its people, and its impact on Baltimore, Maryland, and the nation. Maryland Carey Law is home to some of the smartest, hardest-working people I have ever met,” she said. “As a collective, we are deeply committed to the important intellectual and practical contributions we make, but all without taking ourselves too seriously. Our graduates leave our walls well-prepared for the professional challenges that will lie before them. It is wonderful to lead the institution that is such a formative part of their journey.”
Hutchins said the highlight of her first year as dean has been “reconnecting with so many old friends and getting to know so many new ones.”
She has gotten settled into her office, which contains several items that hold special meaning to her.
The first is a photo from 15 years ago of her two sons that she has on a corkboard behind her desk.
“It reminds me of how much they have grown and how privileged I am to be their mom!” she said. “They are the most remarkable human beings. They regularly amaze me with their resilience, kindness, and humanity.”
Read more about Dean Hutchins in the spring issue of CATALYST magazine.
You can read the Spring 2023 issue of CATALYST magazine, which highlights the work of the University's women deans; the School of Medicine’s research to fight malaria; the School of Nursing’s partnership with Enoch Pratt Library to offer health care; the Graduate School’s new MS in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Leadership; UMB’s sustainability efforts to install beehives; and much, much more!