September 12, 2008

Cooley Names New Assistant Deans in Lansing & Grand Rapids

Cynthia Ward	Tracey Brame

The Thomas M. Cooley Law School has named Associate Professor Cynthia Ward as Assistant Dean of Students, and Assistant Professor Tracey Brame as Assistant Dean of the Grand Rapids campus.

Professor Ward joined the faculty at Cooley in 2002. She teaches and supervises law students in the area of elder law. Previously, she served as Associate Clinical Professor of Law and Director of the Women and AIDS Clinic at Rutgers Law School-Newark. She earned her law degree from Villanova University School of Law in 1994.

Professor Ward was delighted with the change in her role at Cooley. "I am excited to serve the law school in this role. I welcome the opportunity to have contact with many more students than I would normally have in my teaching role."

Professor Brame, who joined the Cooley faculty in February 2006, has taught Pretrial Skills and clinical courses in the Sixty Plus, Inc., Elderlaw Clinic at Cooley’s Lansing campus. In her new role as Assistant Dean, Brame handles student conduct and honor code issues in Grand Rapids. She also works closely with Dean Nelson Miller on projects to enhance student services on campus.

Brame was excited by the change as well. “I very much look forward to the challenge and am humbled by the opportunity,” she noted.

Brame is originally from Detroit, Michigan and earned both her undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Michigan. She clerked in federal district court in the Eastern District of Michigan before serving as a public defender in Detroit and Washington, D.C., for several years. In 2003, Brame moved to Grand Rapids, where she worked as an attorney for Legal Aid of Western Michigan. She earned her law degree from the University of Michigan in 1995.

Celebrating its 35th anniversary this year, Cooley Law School is the largest law school in the country.  Founded in 1972, it operates J.D. programs across Michigan in downtown Lansing, in Auburn Hills, and in downtown Grand Rapids. Today, Cooley Law School has more than 12,000 graduates across the nation and worldwide and also offers joint degree and Master of Laws programs. Cooley offers enrollment three times a year; in January, May and September. Additional information about Cooley can be found at cooley.edu.