Florida State University College of Law Dean Erin O’Hara O’Connor has announced plans to step down from her leadership role, a decision she says was made with “mixed feelings of pride and sadness.”
“I write today to let you know that after 10 years serving as dean of this amazing College of Law, this year will be my last,” O’Connor said in a March 2 letter to the law school community obtained by the Tallahassee Democrat.
She says a search is currently underway for a new dean, and that she will remain in the position until the hire is made. Following the appointment of her successor, she will remain at the College of Law as a tenured faculty member.
O’Connor – who earned the nickname “Dean Double ‘O’ ” because of her name – began as the FSU College of Law’s eighth dean in July 2016, succeeding Donald J. Weidner. She became the first woman to serve as dean.
“Serving as dean of the Florida State University College of Law has been one of the great honors of my professional career,” O’Connor said in a separate statement sent to the Democrat on March 3. “I am incredibly proud of what we have accomplished over the past decade and grateful to the university for its steadfast support throughout my tenure, which made this work possible.”
“With the college well-positioned for continued success, this is the right moment to pass the torch and allow new leadership to build on the strong foundation we have established,” she added.
It’s unclear exactly when she resigned and when the search for a new dean commenced. The university has not yet responded to a public records request for her resignation letter.
Law dean taught at several other schools before FSU
A Buffalo, New York native, O’Connor earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and political science from the University of Rochester in 1987 before going on to earn her law degree, magna cum laude, from the Georgetown University Law Center in 1990.
Before becoming the dean of FSU’s College of Law, O’Connor taught at Vanderbilt Law School in 2001 as the Milton R. Underwood Professor of Law and director of graduate studies for its doctoral program in law and economics. She also served as an associate dean for academic affairs there from 2008 to 2010.
In addition, O’Connor has taught at other law schools including George Mason University, Georgetown University – one of her alma maters – and Northwestern University.
Reflecting on the FSU College of Law’s success throughout the years under her leadership, O’Connor’s letter highlighted accomplishments such as creating the Election Law Center and the Institute for Law, Technology and Innovation.
Moreover, new legal clinics were also established for veterans, the elderly, immigration law, international human rights, bankruptcy law and the First Amendment.
“FSU Law had been on an upward trajectory for many years, and it was my job to serve as conductor to its incredible talent and to find additional resources so that our momentum of success could continue,” O’Connor wrote in her letter. “Our hard work, ambition and resilience has, collectively, brought us many accolades and enabled us to expand our offerings.”
The FSU College of Law’s recent state bar exam passage rates include an 88.5% pass rate in July 2025, which was an increase from 87.4% in July 2024 and 83.4% for the same month in 2023. Florida’s passage rates had been trending down in prior years, then took a nosedive during the COVID pandemic.
In addition, O’Connor led the college to one of its strongest U.S. News & World Report’s 2025 “Best Graduate Schools” rankings in history with a placement of No. 17 among public law schools, No. 38 overall – which bumped it up 10 spots from the year prior – and No. 1 in Florida. The FSU College of Law was also ranked as the No. 1 Best Value Law School in the nation by preLaw Magazine for the first time last year.
“It is exciting and gratifying to see FSU Law get the recognition it deserves,” O’Connor wrote.
“What I like best about these rankings is that they reflect the tremendous work that every one of us – employees, students, faculty, alumni and university administration – brings to FSU Law every day, and I could not be prouder of your important contributions to these successes.”
Tarah Jean is the higher education reporter for the Tallahassee Democrat, a member of the USA TODAY Network – Florida. She can be reached at tjean@tallahassee.com. Follow her on X: @tarahjean_.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FSU College of Law dean says she’s stepping down to ‘pass the torch’
Reporting by Tarah Jean, Tallahassee Democrat / Tallahassee Democrat
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
