Jerry Dickinson, the new dean for the Barco School of Law, made his way from the Allegheny County foster care system to a successful career as a scholar in constitutional law. 

Dickinson left Pittsburgh for over a decade to do civil activism in Johannesburg, South Africa before attending law school at Fordham University in New York. He became a constitutional law scholar and civil rights lawyer. Now, as of 2025, Dickinson has become one of the youngest law deans in Pitt history and the youngest dean currently at Pitt. 

Dickinson joined the Pitt faculty in 2017 and was appointed as vice dean in 2023. In 2020 and 2022, Dickinson took a brief detour to run for House of Representatives in the previously 18th, and now 12th district. 

Throughout his career, he has taken a more unexpected route in becoming a law school dean compared to the traditionally planned aspirations of teaching law. Dickinson discussed his journey from practicing, becoming a law professor, to the dean position in a one-on-one interview with The Pitt News and gave students advice on pursuing a career in law. 

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

The Pitt News: How did you get started teaching after being a full-time practicing lawyer? 

Jerry Dickinson: Around the time that I was leaving the law firm [Reed Smith LLP] to clerk at the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, I received a cold email, believe it or not, from then a current faculty member, George Taylor, on what we call the Appointments Committee. The law school was doing a national search for a property, constitutional law professor, and he sent out this email to me. He pretty much asked me, “Have you ever thought about becoming a law professor?” And I said, “It never really crossed my mind.”

I love practicing law. I thought I might become a politician someday, but I never envisioned going into academia. And then I remember having a conversation with my wife, and she said, “[I] should probably ask some more questions.” And I met with him and he said, “Look, throw your hat into the ring, apply for the job. It’s competitive. You have scholars and lawyers all across the United States vying for this position, but you might be in a good position.” 

And long story short, I got the job. So a very unusual, unconventional way of getting into the legal academy. It was never really my ambition to go into academia, but ever since it happened, it’s great. I love it. 

Even in my time as a law professor, I haven’t given up all aspects of practice. I still do pro bono representation in fair housing, indigent tenants, eviction proceedings. So I still sort of balance both worlds of practice and research and writing, which is, I think, really cool.

TPN: With your scholarship to go to South Africa, what initially inspired you to go there before starting law school?

JD: In undergraduate school and even as a practicing lawyer, I am very interested in issues related to housing rights and housing accessibility. And [in undergrad] I was thinking about where to do a major research project. At the time, the three destinations that I was thinking about were New Zealand, South Africa or Israel. I was actually looking at going to Israel and doing work on land settlements, and housing New Zealand for the Aborigines, but I ended up falling for South Africa.

For one, [South Africa is] English speaking, relatively easy to acculturate and accommodate to and a really interesting post-apartheid history of racial, racial tension, which was parallel in some ways with the United States. Then, self-serving wise, the World Cup in 2010 was in South Africa, and I was a collegiate soccer player, and I love soccer, so I was like, well, in my free time, I will enjoy the World Cup. But I wanted to go, understand and see how the law worked internationally, and then take those experiences, bring those tools and knowledge back to the United States and see how I could utilize that to help make the lives of other people better. 

TPN: You took a step into politics running for the 18th, now the 12th, district seat. What motivated you to run for office?

JD: I think there’s two things that motivated me at the time. One was being a born and raised Pittsburgher, loving the city of Pittsburgh [and] wanting to see the city of Pittsburgh be better and more equitable.

I knew and understood, one way to make big changes is through the legislative processes, and whether that’s in the State House or in Congress, that I thought that would be one formidable way to give back to my hometown.

So there was sort of an internal personal story, and wanting to say, “Hey, look, kid who came out of the Allegheny County foster care system, a young, black kid, can make it to Congress” — all that other stuff with all the barriers that come along with it. And then I think what also spurred some of that was, the first Trump administration, what was happening around the world, and just knowing that I had a certain tool set and skill set as a lawyer and a constitutional law professor to help to keep fighting for our democratic norms and democratic institutions. I thought that’s also a good reason to want to step away from academia for a short period of time and go serve this wonderful region. 

TPN: You are amongst the youngest deans in Pitt Law history and currently the youngest law school dean in the country right now. How does that make you feel, and what type of impact do you think this will make?

JD: It adds a layer of responsibility. But I also think that it generates a perception of generational change. The legal industry, the law world and law practice has always been slow to change and evolving norms, and I think [being a young dean] shows that we’re willing to turn the chapter and have a generational shift. I’m also excited that a younger person in the place of being a dean will help generate more enthusiasm for applications and students to apply to law school. 

I think there’s also a racial dimension as well. So it’s not just about age and youth, but as a young African American male in light of the end of affirmative action several years ago, I hope that symbolically, I can be a motivating and inspiring factor for young children of color here in western Pennsylvania and [others that] want to thrive and strive to go to law school and be lawyers, and I think that’s also a very important part of just this role as a dean is to be a role model and a symbol of hope for racial equality.

TPN: What advice would you give to students considering law school but aren’t quite certain?

JD: I mentor a lot of undergraduates, and I always tell them, one, don’t rush the decision to go to law school. It’s okay to take a year or two or three off and go off and do something, go graduate and go skydive. And they’re just like, “what?” I say, go graduate and just climb mountains or something, just go do something amazing. Because, once you start law school and it’s at that point, it’s a busy, hectic, stressful career, and you want to make sure that you’re ready to do it. So take your time. Don’t rush things. 

The other one I tell students, take that time to figure out who you are as a person and how that story or narrative of going to law school plays a role in that larger story of your life. Because you want to have the internal investment and desire and passion to do it, and you can’t actually get there until you’ve taken some time off to just figure it out.

For students thinking about law school, speak to as many law students and lawyers as possible — hear their stories right. Reach out. Lawyers and law professors love to talk. They will reciprocate. And I think that taking that time to learn and listen from folks is great. 

And then finally, I think going to law school puts you in a position to have a pretty tremendous influence on the trajectory of our country. Lawyers are leaders in every single sector in this country — business, medicine, politics, civic, philanthropic, everything you can think of. Lawyers are part of the leadership class. And as I think if students realize that taking on the role of being a lawyer and going to law school is a major responsibility, the responsibility that may and likely will have a dramatic impact on our democracy, our democratic institutions and the health of our country.