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March 8, 2010
Political science professor Lorne Sossin will become the new dean of York University’s law school, starting July 1, 2010.
And you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone at the Faculty of Law who wouldn’t agree that this announcement comes with pleasure, pride and regret.
“It goes without saying that Osgoode has made the right–I could say, the obvious–choice,” says University of Toronto Faculty of Law Dean Mayo Moran. “It would take pages to list Lorne’s accomplishments, so I’ll simply say that Lorne has made such tremendous contributions to the law school, and that he will leave a great void behind him.”
Sossin was well-loved by students as well. “I think that while our student body is extremely happy for Prof. Sossin, we simultaneously view this as a tremendous loss for our law school,” says first-year student, Justin Nasseri, “in terms of losing a personable and wonderful educator, and of the wealth of knowledge and experience he commanded.”
Isaac Tang, head of the Students’ Law Society, adds: “The SLS views Prof. Sossin as a strong advocate for student-friendly policies and a leader in the greater legal community. He will be sincerely missed by both students and staff next year.”
His outstanding teaching skills were rewarded with a 2008-2009 Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations Award for Teaching Excellence. Sossin served as an associate dean in the Faculty of Law from 2004 to 2007. Previously, Sossin was a faculty member at Osgoode Hall Law School and an associate-in-law at Columbia Law School. He is also a former litigation lawyer with Borden & Elliot (now Borden Ladner Gervais) and a former law clerk to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada.
Sossin holds doctorates in law from Columbia University and in political science from the University of Toronto. His teaching interests span administrative law, public administration, professional regulation, civil litigation, ethics and professionalism and legal process.
“I am very excited for the new challenges as dean of Osgoode Hall Law School, and I am also extraordinarily grateful to U of T, where I have enjoyed working with terrific colleagues, students, staff and alumni,” says Sossin. “I hope and expect that the friendships and connections forged over the past eight years will continue well into the future.”
Sossin succeeds former Osgoode Law School dean Patrick Monahan, who has taken on a new role as York’s vice-president academic and provost.
By Lucianna Ciccocioppo
This announcement is also available on the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Law website.