Texas Tech University

Jack Wade Nowlin

Dean; W. Frank Newton Professor of Law

Email: jack.nowlin@ttu.edu

Phone: (806) 834-6941

Jack Wade Nowlin, Dean and W. Frank Newton Professor of Law, joined the Texas Tech University School of Law in 2017. A native of West Texas and a Texas Tech University System alumnus, Dean Nowlin is a member of the Texas Bar, the Lubbock Area Bar Association, the Texas Tech University School of Law American Inn of Court, the Texas Bar Foundation, and the Texas Tech Law School Foundation Board.

As Dean of the Law School, Nowlin is committed to putting students first and teaching outstanding practical lawyering skills in a student-supportive environment. With over twenty years of experience in law teaching, Dean Nowlin knows that Texas Tech is a very special place, and he is dedicated to leading the school forward to even greater heights.

Prior to joining the law faculty at Texas Tech, Nowlin served on the faculty of the University of Mississippi School of Law for seventeen years. At UM, Nowlin was Jessie D. Puckett, Jr., Lecturer in Law, Professor of Law, and Senior Associate Dean. Nowlin was twice recognized by students as Law Professor of the Year and received the Ben A. Hardy Faculty Excellence Award for outstanding teaching, research, and service.

Nowlin has been a dedicated teacher throughout his career and has taught courses on constitutional law, philosophy of law, criminal procedure, criminal law, and academic legal writing. Nowlin has also spearheaded student publishing programs, and his student advisees have published dozens of articles in journals such as the Gonzaga Law Review, the South Dakota Law Review, and UVA's Journal of Law and Politics. Nowlin also served as a faculty member of the National Judicial College for over a decade and taught Fourth Amendment law to trial and appellate judges.

Earlier in his career, Nowlin's administrative work focused on strategic planning, faculty development, communications, reporting, endowed accounts, and numerous special projects. He also directed faculty writing workshops and advised law journal student editors. Nowlin's research interests have focused on judicial power, interpretive theory, and constitutional structure. He has written over thirty articles, book chapters, and book reviews, including placements with the Notre Dame Law Review, the Illinois Law Review, and Princeton University Press.

Nowlin's service activities over the years have included coaching moot court teams, chairing university-wide task forces, and planning student-oriented events for Constitution Day and Martin Luther King Day. In 2014, Nowlin also served as moderator for a lecture series event featuring Justice Antonin Scalia and Justice Elena Kagan.

Read a message from Dean Nowlin here.

View his CV here.

Nowlin Portrait

Education

  • B.A., Angelo State University, 1991
  • J.D., The University of Texas School of Law, 1994
  • M.A., Princeton University, 1997
  • Ph.D., Princeton University, 1999

Courses

  • Academic Legal Writing

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