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The University has named Notre Dame Law School Professor Vincent D. Rougeau, a national expert on Catholic social teaching and the role of moral and religious values in law making and public policy, as dean of Boston College Law School, effective July 1.
Rougeau has been a distinguished professor of contracts, real estate law and Catholic social thought at Notre Dame for the past 12 years. His current academic research focuses on global migration and multicultural citizenship, with a special emphasis on the challenges posed by religious pluralism. His book, Christians in the American Empire: Faith and Citizenship in the New World Order, explores the philosophical and theological underpinnings of Catholic social teaching as they relate to various aspects of American law.
Provost and Dean of Faculties Cutberto Garza, who chaired the search committee, praised Rougeau as a leader with the skills and experience to advance BC Law.
“From the outset, the Law School community, the search committee and I agreed that our shared goal was to find the best dean to lead Boston College Law School,” said Garza. “I am delighted that Professor Rougeau has been named the next dean and know that his tenure will be marked by many successes. His academic background, scholarship and experiences make him uniquely suited for the Law School and Boston College.”
In accepting the position, Rougeau said he was eager to assume a leadership role in a Jesuit, Catholic environment that was so important to his own development as a teacher and a scholar, and one that would enable him to continue to be engaged in issues of social and economic justice.
“I am thrilled to be joining the Boston College community and I look forward to participating in the mission of this extraordinary university and law school,” said Rougeau. “I have long admired the Boston College Law School faculty and feel very honored by the opportunity to serve as their dean.”
While at Notre Dame Law School, Rougeau also served as dean for academic affairs for three years, and as a member of the law school’s appointments committee, including three terms as committee chair. “In this role, I was thoroughly familiar with the strategies that must be employed to recruit and retain the best possible faculty,” said Rougeau. “I am also personally aware of the challenges and opportunities a meaningful commitment to diversity presents to a law faculty.”
Rougeau also has a longstanding interest in bank regulation, particularly as it relates to the protection of consumers. Much of his early teaching and writing focused on ways in which the law might check predatory behavior in the marketplace, as well as government regulation and intervention in financial markets.
A graduate of Brown University where he majored in international relations, Rougeau received his law degree from Harvard Law School. He worked as an assistant and then associate professor of law at Loyola University of Chicago School of Law, before joining the faculty at Notre Dame Law School. He has also served as a fellow at the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame, and as a senior fellow at the Contextual Theology Centre at the Royal Foundation of St. Catherine in London.
The author of a book and several book chapters, his latest work, titled Cosmopolitan Democracy, Religious Citizens, and Global Multiculturalism, is a part of an ongoing project called Contending Modernities, which will likely result in a conference next year.
Rougeau and his wife Dr. Robin Kornegay Rougeau have three sons.
"Any successful search outcome is the result of the efforts of many,” said Garza. “I would like to thank the members of the search committee and all who assisted in the process. I am also thankful to Interim Dean George Brown and the Law School faculty, students, staff and alumni, whose commitment and dedication to their school and University have been evident throughout this process.”