John Carroll, former federal judge and longtime dean of Samford University’s Cumberland School of Law, has died, Samford president Beck A. Taylor, announced Monday.
“The Samford family mourns the passing of Judge John Carroll, dean of Cumberland School of Law from 2001-2014,” Taylor said in a tweet Monday. “Judge Carroll was a beloved colleague and friend. Prayers extend to Susan and the entire family.”
Carroll served as the dean of the law school from 2001-2014, leading the school to a rank fourth nationally in trial advocacy according to the U.S. News and World Report.
His 13 years as a law school dean is a particularly long term for the role, with Carroll himself noting that most law school deans only serve five years.
He graduated from Cumberland himself in 1974 and joined the Southern Poverty Law Center as legal director until 1984.
Carroll also served 14 years as a U.S. Magistrate Judge in the middle district of Alabama, based in Montgomery.
