During his 43 years of service at the Paul M. Hebert Law Center, Cheney Joseph served as both a professor and an administrator, but most importantly, the “heart and soul” of the Law Center, interim dean William “Bill” Corbett said.
Joseph died on the morning of Dec. 18, 2015, according to an article by the Law Center.
He graduated from the Law Center in 1969 and began teaching there in 1972, Corbett said.
Throughout his time at the Law Center, he took leave to serve in various legal positions throughout the state, such as U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Louisiana, District Attorney of East Baton Rouge Parish and executive director of the Louisiana Judicial College.
“Nobody that I know of has ever done more things for the legal profession of the state than Cheney did,” Corbett said. “Given the breadth of all the things he did in the legal profession, he brought a lot to the Law Center.”
At the Law Center, Joseph served as vice chancellor for academic and student affairs and later as interim co-dean. As an administrator, he still took time to teach, often teaching up to three courses, Corbett said.
“More than anything else, he loved to teach,” Corbett said. “Cheney loved teaching so much that he taught beyond a full load most semesters.”
Law student Clare Sanchez said she had Joseph as a professor in her first year and worked with him on an almost daily basis as president of the Student Bar Association. Sanchez said that Joseph was approachable as a professor and administrator.
“No matter if you had him as a professor, no matter if you’d just seen him around a few times, his door was always open,” Sanchez said. “He was the most warm-hearted professor. He never made you feel stupid for a wrong answer.”
Corbett, who served with Joseph as interim co-dean since August 2015, said it was easy to work with Joseph and divide the responsibilities since they had worked together for 24 years. Serving as interim co-deans together was a comfortable arrangement for the two as they were best friends, Corbett said.
In Joseph’s memory, a run was held on Jan. 10. The event was informal and organized over Facebook, Corbett said. The Law Center will try to make the run an annual event, he said. A classroom will be named after Joseph in his honor.
A selection committee was assembled in August to begin the search for a Law Center dean. The selection committee is made up of 19 people, Corbett said, consisting of seven law faculty members, one law staff member, two administrators from the university, one law student, seven Law Center alumni and Senior Vice Provost Jane Cassidy, who serves as the chair of the committee.
Christina Hood, executive assistant to the dean and member of the selection committee, said the committee worked with the university’s human resource department to select a pool of candidates.
Seven candidates were interviewed, and from the seven the committee chose three finalists. One of the finalists withdrew to accept an administrative position at another university, Hood said.
“There’s a lot of different things you consider in a dean search,” Hood said.
She said some of those components include fundraising, faculty initiatives, the law school curriculum and working with fellow deans on campus.
The two finalists will come to the university for a two-and-a-half day visit at the end of January, where they will meet with various personnel throughout the Law Center as well as the university, Hood said. The committee will convene in February to come to a consensus on who to select.
“You’re looking for a strong leader, someone who connects well with students,” Hood said. “Teaching scholarship and services is always a component for someone in that position.”