Measuring Success, One Student at a Time

Wake Forest Law Dean Andy Klein Reflects on His First Year on the Job

For Dean Andy Klein, making sure students remain at the center of operations at Wake Forest Law is a top priority. “We owe them our full attention and our best efforts,” he says. “I want to demonstrate that in all ways.”

And he does.

From supporting student events and fundraising for student scholarships, to chatting with students in the hallway and meeting with alumni, his student-centric approach to leadership stands out.

One year into his tenure as dean of Wake Forest Law, he’s making plans to not only continue these efforts, but amplify the ways the Law School focuses its efforts on the student experience.

Learn more about Dean Klein’s first year and plans for the future of Wake Forest Law.

A Special Place

Dean Klein was not looking to move when he learned about the position at Wake Forest Law. But when he interviewed in 2023, there was something about the Law School that led him to reconsider. “The school has a highly productive group of scholars who also affirmatively commit themselves to excellence in the classroom, which is really important to me,” he says, reflecting on his first impressions of the Law School’s faculty. “I also met many of the staff who work in the building, and it was clear that people were genuinely dedicated to the success of our students.”

A year later, his first impressions have been affirmed. “What a special place,” says Dean Klein. “We’re on this beautiful, spectacular campus of a world-class university. We have a building filled with dedicated professors, we have a wonderful, talented staff. We attract superb students. We have great leadership at the university level and terrific colleagues as deans at the other schools.”

“It’s been everything I thought it would be. And probably a little bit more.”

Faculty Drive

When he isn’t traveling to meet alumni or attending a meeting off campus, he rides his e-bike to work most days.

 “Students laugh when they see me with my sunglasses and a helmet on, wearing a suit and tie.”

Just ¾ of a mile from campus, Dean Klein lives with his wife, Diane, and their three-and-a-half-year-old collie, Parker, in the historic Faculty Drive neighborhood.

After beginning his role as dean in July 2023, finding a home was proving difficult. After months of no luck, he went to lunch with Professor Emeritus Charley Rose and shared his dilemma.

The next day, divine intervention unfolded. Professor Rose called Dean Klein to tell him his next-door neighbors were selling their house, which was built in the 1970s by former Wake Forest University Professor Emeritus of Education Joe Milner and his wife, Lucy. The rest is history. Dean Klein and Diane purchased the house and officially moved in December 2023—next door to Professor Rose.

A Student-Centric Mindset

As head of the Law School, Dean Klein has been adamant about operations being student-centric, which is evident in his day-to-day work. “If I’m in the building and there are students around, I want to see how they’re doing,” he says. “So I check in on them. Sometimes they like that. Sometimes they go, ‘Why is the dean coming down to talk to me?’ But that’s important. I just love our students. It’s a joy to be around them.”

Celebrating his 32^nd year in higher education this fall, leading with a student-first mindset is deeply rooted in his philosophy of higher education. “Students should be at the center of what we do,” says Dean Klein. “That’s the ethos here at Wake Forest Law. The teacher-scholar model is something people take seriously. And I love how that lines up with my own view of what higher education is all about.”

But, he emphasizes, he does not want to diminish the other important work done at Wake Forest Law, including faculty research and scholarship. “An academic institution has a responsibility to advance knowledge, so it’s critical to have our faculty doing work and influencing the development of the law,” says Dean Klein. “Our research, our creative activity, and our service to the profession are all vitally important.”

Looking Forward

During the upcoming 2024-2025 school year, Dean Klein plans to continue creating opportunities for students, faculty, staff, and alumni. His goals include continuing his external work and raising funds to support students and faculty at the school, ensuring the decennial American Bar Association reaccreditation process goes smoothly, and also making sure the Law School is engaging in activity that’s in line with the University’s Strategic Framework. “And of course,” he says, “maintaining our great student outcomes.” The Wake Forest Law Class of 2023 had a nearly 100% employment rate and a 93% first-time bar passage rate.

He also plans to continue focusing on important initiatives, like mental health. “Stress and mental health are major issues for the legal profession,” says Dean Klein. “So we’re trying to make sure that we provide adequate support for our students. Our Assistant Dean of Student Affairs, Branden Nicholson, and others have done a really good job providing an infrastructure, making sure that our students are aware of the kind of support that we have on campus and in the community. I think that’s something that’s changed over the years—we do a better job paying attention to that for our students.”

He is also looking forward to the future to help ensure Wake Forest Law remains on the cutting edge of legal education while building on all of the things that have made the Law School what it is today. “That’s a fun challenge to have since Wake Forest Law is already so strong,” says Dean Klein. “That doesn’t mean that I have a copyright on the exact blueprint of how to do that. I don’t. So that’s a conversation we need to have among faculty, alumni, staff, and students, thinking about what we’re going to do to not just to remain relevant, but to be a leader in legal education in the years ahead.”

Measuring Success

From pictures of events with alumni and posts celebrating faculty and staff, to posts supporting the Law School’s Clinics and especially students, Dean Klein’s LinkedIn page is the perfect scrapbook of his first year as dean of Wake Forest Law.

During the 2023-2024 school year, he attended 46 events off-campus and numerous on-campus events—all expertly managed by the school’s outstanding Advancement team and the Assistant to the Dean, Iris Still. “Iris is wonderful,” says Dean Klein. Almost all of the events are documented on his LinkedIn profile. Sharing bits of his day-to-day life through social media not only puts Wake Forest Law in the spotlight, but also makes people feel valued.

A servant-leader guided by the golden rule, making people feel valued and empowered is what Dean Klein is all about.

In fact, it’s how he measures his success.

One of his mentors, former FBI agent and longtime educator Jerry Bepko, was greatly impacted by author Robert K. Greenleaf, who coined the term “servant-leader.” Greenleaf explained that a servant-leader should measure his or her success not on their own accomplishments, but on the accomplishments of others they lead. “That’s how Jerry was, and that was evident when we celebrated his life this spring,” says Dean Klein about his mentor, who passed away in 2023. “It was inspiring to hear so many people talk about how Jerry had influenced their paths and set them up to do good in the world.”

“When the day comes and I leave, I won’t care about people remembering what I did. I’d like to know there are people who are doing great things because I helped create opportunities and avenues for others to thrive.”