Indiana Tech has chosen Peter C. Alexander as the founding dean of the university’s law school, which is slated to open in fall 2013 in Fort Wayne.

Alexander will officially begin work on January 9, 2012. He is currently a professor at the Southern Illinois University School of Law in Carbondale, Ill., where he served as dean from 2003 until 2009.

“Peter Alexander shares our vision for law school education in the 21^st century and has the qualifications and experience to help us achieve our goals,” said Dr. Arthur E. Snyder, Indiana Tech president. “I look forward to working with him as we continue our curriculum development and begin recruiting students for our first class.”

Alexander has more than 25 years of experience in teaching and practicing law. Prior to his position at Southern Illinois, he was on the faculty of The Dickinson School of Law at Penn State University for 11 years, where he served as associate dean for research and faculty development for two years. Alexander teaches in the areas of bankruptcy law, evidence, and trial practice.

Before joining the Penn State-Dickinson faculty, Alexander was in private practice in Champaign, Ill., for seven years. He also served as a law clerk to the Hon. Larry L. Lessen, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the Central District of Illinois, and the Hon. Harold A. Baker, U.S. District Judge for the Central District of Illinois.

“I am humbled and honored to be selected as the founding dean of Indiana Tech’s new law school,” Alexander said. “I appreciate Dr. Snyder’s confidence and support. Together, we will create an institution that will prepare men and women for success in the practice of law or any field they choose.

“I am quite confident that the Indiana Tech School of Law will quickly be regarded as the home of innovation in legal education,” he added.

Alexander is a member of the American Bar Association, the Illinois State Bar Association, and the American Bankruptcy Institute; he is a Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy, the American Bar Foundation, and the Illinois Bar Foundation; and he is an elected member of the American Law Institute. Alexander earned his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Southern Illinois University Carbondale and his Juris Doctor from Northeastern University in Boston, Mass.

Indiana Tech’s Board of Trustees granted approval for establishment of the School of Law on May 13, and it was announced publicly on May 16. The university plans to enroll 100 students for the first law school classes in fall 2013.