FAMU College of Law Announces New Faculty

LeRoy Pernell, dean of the Florida A&M University (FAMU) College of Law, has announced the hiring of seven law professors who are nationally and internationally recognized for their academic leadership and legal expertise. The appointments are effective for the 2008-2009 academic year.

“These individuals are distinguished in legal academia, scholarship, and professional service,” said Pernell. “I am confident that each one of them will make a unique contribution to the academy, complementing the exceptional team of legal scholars currently on the FAMU College of Law faculty.”

The new faculty members are:

• Markita Cooper, professor and associate dean for Academic Affairs. Cooper formerly served as professor and associate dean for the JD Program Academic Affairs at Golden Gate University School of Law in San Francisco, where she was responsible for the administration of curriculum, instruction and course scheduling. She also hired, evaluated and trained adjunct faculty and helped develop a comprehensive program that improved the bar passage rate. She holds a J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law, and an A.B. in communications and psychology from Stanford University.

• Jeremy Levitt, distinguished professor for International Law and associate dean for International Programs. Levitt previously served as associate professor and director of the Program for Human Rights and Global Justice at Florida International University College of Law, in Miami. His areas of expertise include African politics, the Caribbean, and human rights law. He is a columnist for the Chicago Sun Times and has contributed to radio and television programs across the country and in Ghana, West Africa. He received a B.A. in political science from Arizona State University, a J.D. from the University of Wisconsin in Madison, and a Ph.D. in international relations from the University of Cambridge St. John’s College in the UK.

• Kenneth Nunn, professor and associate dean for Research and Faculty Development. Prior to joining FAMU, Nunn served as a professor at the University of Florida College of Law in Gainesville, where his research focused on criminal law and procedure, civil rights, and critical race theory. He has served as a visiting professor at the University of Warsaw Faculty of Law in Warsaw, Poland and Makerere University Faculty of Law in Kampala, Uganda. Nunn has published extensively and served as consulting editor for law and society for the “Macmillan Encyclopedia of Race and Racism. He received a J.D. from the University of California School of Law in Berkeley and an A.B. in international relations from Stanford University.

• Deleso Washington, associate professor. Washington comes to FAMU after serving as assistant professor of law at Barry University School of Law in Orlando, where she taught legal research and writing. She holds an LL.M. from Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, DC, where she focused on the Intersectionality of Gender, Race and Law; a J.D. from Southern University Law Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana; and a B.S. from Southern University A&M College in Baton Rouge.

• Crisarla Houston, assistant professor and director of Legal Writing. Prior to coming to FAMU, Houston served as assistant professor and director of Legal Research and Writing at Texas Southern University School of Law, where she focused on developing and strengthening students’ basic writing, legal writing and case analysis skills. She received a J.D. from Harvard Law School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, a B.S. in finance from Hampton University in Hampton, Virginia, and has studied international and humanitarian law at the University of Ghana.

• Jonathan Fineman, assistant professor. Fineman previously served as a research fellow for the University of Colorado Law School in Boulder, where he taught employment law and comparative employment law. He also has served as an associate for the law firms of Sedgwick, Detert, Moran & Arnold LLP; Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP; and Morgenstein & Jubelirer LLP in San Francisco, California. He holds a J.D. from Columbia Law School in New York and a B.A. in American studies from Wesleyan University in Connecticut.

• Tshaka Randall, assistant professor. Before joining FAMU, Randall was a visiting professor at Widener University School of Law in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where he taught property and education law. He also served on the admissions and diversity committees. Randall received his J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania School of Law, an M.A. in education from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and a B.S. in education from the University of Dayton.