Richard Moberly has been appointed to the position of interim dean of the University of Nebraska College of Law. Ronnie Green, interim senior vice chancellor for academic affairs, announced the appointment Dec. 9.
Moberly will formally begin the appointment, which is pending approval from the Board of Regents, Feb. 1.
A member of UNL’s law faculty since 2004, Moberly has been associate dean for faculty at the college since 2011. He won the College Award for Distinguished Teaching in 2007. In 2006 and 2011, he was voted Professor of the Year by upperclass law students, while in 2014 he was awarded the College Distinguished Faculty Award from the College of Law Alumni Council.
He will continue his teaching duties during the interim appointment.
“I have had an opportunity to dialogue with the College of Law faculty and staff and have received broad support for Richard’s integrity, foresight, and leadership ability,” Green said. “I am confident that he will provide highly effective leadership as we begin the process to seek a permanent dean.”
Moberly will succeed Susan Poser, who on Dec. 1 announced she had accepted the position of provost at the University of Illinois-Chicago. Poser has been dean of the College of Law since 2010.
“I am honored to serve the College of Law as interim dean,” Moberly said. “There is tremendous energy and momentum at the college as a result of Dean Poser’s excellent work over the last five and a half years. I look forward to working closely with the faculty and staff to continue the school’s progress and upward trajectory.”
Before joining the College of Law, Moberly practiced as an attorney with McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP in Atlanta. He earned his bachelor’s degree in history from Emory University and graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School, where he was an editor of the Harvard Law Review.
His research interests include employee whistleblower protection and the law of secrecy. Moberly has published numerous articles and book chapters on whistleblowing, including research on national security whistleblowers and codes of ethics, as well as an empirical study Sarbanes-Oxley retaliation claims. The U.S. Secretary of Labor has twice appointed him to the Whistleblower Protection Advisory Committee to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
Green said the university will open a national search for the permanent dean position beginning in fall 2016.
