By JODI SOKOLOWSKI
Buffalo Law Journal

University at Buffalo Law School professor Makau Mutua has been named interim dean of the law school, effective Dec. 17.

Mutua replaces R. Nils Olsen Jr., who announced in April that he would step down in December as dean. Olsen will continue as a law-school faculty member and will teach a course on civil procedure and do research after taking a six-month leave of absence.

Mutua could not be reached for comment. UB officials said he is out of the country.

A national search for Olsen's permanent replacement is currently under way, with on-campus interviews happening this month with four finalists. They are: Leon Trakman, a professor at the University of New South Wales in Australia and Harvard Law School graduate; Marion Crain, a University of North Carolina School of Law professor who graduated from the University of California at Los Angeles; Bruce Smith, a University of Illinois College of Law professor and Yale Law School graduate; and Margaret Raymond, a University of Iowa College of Law professor who graduated from Columbia University School of Law.

Two of the finalists visited UB in the last week, and the other two are coming on Dec. 14 and 17.

The on-campus interviews, which last up to two days, include meetings with law faculty, senior staff, students and alumni as well as leaders in the university and in the legal community.

UB Law Professor Guyora Binder, who chairs the UB Law Dean Search Committee, said there is no set deadline for the committee to present its recommendation to the university president, who along with the provost will make the final decision.

Mutua, who also is Floyd H. and Hilda L. Hurst Faculty Scholar at UB Law, directs the Human Rights Center in the law school. He joined the UB faculty in 1996 after serving as associate director of Harvard Law School's Human Rights Program. He was also director of the Africa Project at the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights.

He is a member of the American Society of International Law's executive council and executive committee. He is the author of "Human Rights: A Political and Cultural Critique," as well as numerous other books and scholarly articles.

Mutua, a native of Kenya, earned a doctor of juridical science degree from Harvard Law School.