New Dean is a Starr

Former Whitewater prosecutor, Ken Starr, assumes the dean's position at the Malibu (Malibu!) based and Church of Christ affiliated Pepperdine Law School.

Starr's appointment is generally regarded by Pepperdine and the broader legal community as a boon for the law school. It's widely thought that he has potential to be a star in raising funds and in improving scholarship and teaching, along with attracting high-caliber faculty and students. The law school, founded in 1970, has more than 700 students and 35 professors who are tenured or on track toward earning tenure.

"Profile-wise, he's going to be great, getting our name out there," said Valerie Lopez, a third-year Pepperdine law student from Clifton, N.J. "We don't have the highest reputation in comparison to other schools here, like UCLA or USC."

Pepperdine previously offered Starr the role of dean over both its law and public policy schools in 1997, and he accepted, only to withdraw days later after the disclosure that he would leave the Whitewater probe in midstream created a furor. Starr said his change of plans had nothing to do with the public reaction, but with concerns raised by his Whitewater deputies that it would be "a premature departure" that could hurt the investigation.