The school announced the move on Wednesday. Simson will take the reins on July 1. Simson stepped down from Case Western in late 2008 in order to allow university president Barbara Snyder to name her own choice for dean. The school’s U.S. News ranking had slipped 10 spots that year, though the ranking went up eight spots the following year. Simson had been dean at Case Western for two years when he resigned and had remained on the faculty at the Cleveland campus. At the time, he said the school’s slip in rankings was not the reason for his departure.
Simson, a constitutional law specialist, will replace outgoing Dean Daisy Hurst Floyd at Mercer. She held the position since 2004. She will remain on the law school’s faculty.
