Florida Coastal dean takes post at Barry University

By Beth Kormanik
Times-Union staff writer

Florida Coastal School of Law Dean J. Richard Hurt is leaving to become dean at Barry University School of Law, where one of his first tasks will be to help it earn full accreditation.

"He has a wealth of experience in that area," said Sister Peggy Albert, Barry's executive vice president. "I think he can move us through the process of moving toward full approval of our law school."

Hurt guided Florida Coastal to full accreditation earlier this school year and brings much-needed experience to Barry, which has struggled to gain approval since the school's inception.

When the American Bar Association denied Barry accreditation in January 2001, Dean Stanley Talcott offered to resign so the school could hire an "ABA insider." The university asked Talcott to stay. Now that he decided to return to the Barry faculty, the school has found an "insider" in Hurt.

Hurt served from 1998 to 2000 as the ABA's deputy consultant of legal education, the No. 2 official in the association's accreditation process. He held that post when the association gave provisional approval to Florida Coastal in August 1999.

Hurt became dean at Florida Coastal July 1, 2001.

Barry University, a Catholic school in Miami Shores, purchased the for-profit University of Orlando School of Law in 1999 and renamed it Barry University School of Law. The University of Orlando, founded in 1995, was twice denied provisional accreditation. Barry also was denied twice before earning provisional accreditation in February 2002.

Hurt said Barry contacted him a month ago about the position at the 311-student law school. He interviewed a week later and finalized the deal Wednesday. Hurt will start July 1.

Albert said the school did not hire Hurt solely to work on accreditation and that he would remain as dean if the school reaches that goal.

"I think it's a good match," she said. "I think that our law school is in its formative stages, and I think he has the insight and the abilities to help us continue to form our law school into the kind of institution of which we can be proud."

The school has other strides to make. Last year Barry had the lowest first-time passage rate on the Florida General Bar Examination, with 40.9 percent. Florida Coastal had a 77.6 percent passage rate; the state average is 75 percent.

Florida Coastal employs a former dean of Barry's predecessor, the University of Orlando. Wallace Rudolph, now an adjunct professor at Florida Coastal, filed a lawsuit against the University of Orlando shortly before Barry purchased it. Rudolph contends he was fired for not achieving accreditation but that the school's president hampered his efforts.

Rudolph could not be reached for comment, and Barry's lawyer did not return a call seeking comment.