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Marist College Hires Chicago Educator As Fourth President

POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. -- David Yellen, dean and professor of law at Loyola University Chicago School of Law, was at Marist College in Poughkeepsie on Monday to meet students and staff before becoming the college's fourth president.

Marist trustees made the unanimous decision last week to have Yellen, a lawyer, author and educator, succeed Dennis J. Murray, who is retiring in June 30 after 37 years as president.

Yellen takes office on July 1, then Murray becomes president emeritus and professor of public policy. Yellen and his wife, Leslie Richards-Yellen, who is chief diversity and inclusion officer and partner with law firm Hinshaw and Culbertson, plan to move to Poughkeepsie in the spring. 

"I am honored by this opportunity to lead an incredibly dynamic institution with a growing national and international reputation for educational excellence," Yellen said. 

College officials, who conducted a national search after Murray's announcement almost one year ago, said they are glad to have him. The search committee included representatives from the board, college staff, students and the community.

"David Yellen is one of the nation’s top legal educators, an innovative leader highly respected among his peers and a man of great integrity and commitment to public service," said Ellen Hancock, chair of the board of trustees.

Yellen writes and speaks frequently on legal education, and National Jurist recently named him to the No. 7 position on its list of the 25 Most Influential People in Legal Education, college officials said. Also under his tenure, National Jurist named Loyola University Chicago School of Law one of the nation’s 10 best law schools for experiential learning.

Yellen created the dean’s Diversity Council, which helped increase by more than 50 percent the number of students of color enrolled at the school, college officials said.

Yellen, a New Jersey native, earned his J.D., cum laude, from Cornell Law School, and his B.A., magna cum laude, from Princeton University.

For more details about Yellen and Marist College, visit the college's website.

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