Dean Melanie D. Wilson, the Lindsay Young Distinguished Professor of Law, began her tenure as dean of the College of Law in 2015. Wilson earned a JD (magna cum laude and Order of the Coif) from the University of Georgia School of Law. She holds a bachelors degree in journalism with a minor in business, also from the University of Georgia. She previously served as professor of law, associate dean for academic affairs, and director of diversity and inclusion at the University of Kansas School of Law. Before entering academia, Wilson clerked for a federal district court judge and enjoyed thirteen years of law practice in both the private and public sectors, including six years as an assistant United States attorney and four years as an assistant attorney general for the state of Georgia. As an academic, Wilson enjoys both teaching and scholarship. She received the Howard M. and Susan Immel Award for Teaching Excellence at the University of Kansas School of Law in 2011 and was named Outstanding Woman Educator of 2015 by the University of Kansas. She also co-authored three books on criminal procedure and has published more than a dozen articles and essays addressing prosecutorial ethics and the Fourth and Sixth Amendments.