Congratulations to retiring MLAW Director, Dr. Robert Koulish
After an incredibly impactful 16 year career on the faculty at the University of Maryland, Dr. Robert Koulish plans to retire from his role as MLAW Director in June 2026.
Dr. Koulish joined the faculty in the Department of Government and Politics in 2010-11 and served as the Department’s Interim Director of Undergraduate Studies in 2013-14. In 2014-15, Dr. Koulish was appointed as the founding Director of MLAW Programs, launching both the Law and Society Minor (LSM) and the Justice and Legal Thought (JLT) Living-Learning Program in College Park Scholars. Dr. Koulish has also served as Research Professor, and held the inaugural Joel J. Feller Professorship in the BSOS College.
Under Dr. Koulish’s leadership, 1,750 students have benefited from participating in MLAW Programs. Generations of University of Maryland graduates continue to be engaged in and care about the legal rights of others, because of the passionate activism, teaching, and scholarship of Dr. Koulish.
New Leadership
Dr. Justine DeCamillis will serve as Faculty Director for the MLAW Justice and Legal Thought Living-Learning Program in College Park Scholars and Lecturer in the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences beginning in fall 2026. Dr. DeCamillis served as Assistant and then Associate Director of JLT for five years. She has broad teaching and administrative experience across multiple units, and she currently co-leads a series of very successful service learning initiatives for University of Maryland students and community members in the greater College Park area. Her academic scholarship includes historical and modern analytical perspectives on democracy and civic engagement.
Dr. Patrick Wohlfarth will serve as Faculty Director for the MLAW Law & Society Minor beginning in fall 2026. Dr. Wohlfarth is also Director of Undergraduate Studies for both the Government and Politics and International Relations Majors in the Department of Government and Politics. He is Professor of Government and Politics with research expertise in areas including judicial politics, judicial behavior, and legal institutions in the United States.
The MLAW Law & Society Minor will be affiliated with, and administered by, the Department of Government and Politics beginning in fall 2026, allowing students in the Minor to benefit from broader coursework choices across these closely related academic programs.
About MLAW and MPowering the State
MLAW Programs bring together faculty and students from both the University of Maryland College Park and the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law, along with community partners, to offer undergraduate students unparalleled opportunities to learn about many aspects of the law inside and outside of the classroom.
MPowering the State is a collaboration between the State of Maryland’s two most powerful public research and education engines: the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) and the University of Maryland, College Park (UMCP) — to strengthen and serve the state of Maryland and its citizens. MPowering the State is the lead sponsor of MLAW Programs.
