Meet Rutgers Law School's Senior Associate Dean for Admissions and Financial Aid: A Q&A with Nick Wallace

It has been just a month since Nick Wallace joined Rutgers Law School as the Senior Associate Dean for Admissions and Financial Aid, bringing with him a background in both law and public policy, and experience as the Director of Admissions for the University of Minnesota Law School. He will oversee the admissions and financial aid programs at both the Newark and Camden locations of Rutgers Law School and work to provide a seamless application experience for future Rutgers Law students. Dean Wallace divides his days between his Newark and Camden offices and can be reached at:  nwallace@law.rutgers.edu.

What drew you to Rutgers Law School?

“The opportunity here is tremendous! With this merger, there is nothing like it in the nation. This is a great law school with two great locations next to some of the biggest legal markets in the nation. We have 120 faculty members and over 20,000 alumni. And our clinics, practical opportunities, journals, internships and externships provide a unique opportunity for students thinking about law school, particularly in the east. “

What are some of your goals this year?

“I’m going to oversee the processes and policies of financial aid and admissions for the law school. A student applying for Rutgers Law School will have a seamless process. There is one application and a choice for campus preference or no preference. We hope they visit both campuses and make an informed decision. Regardless of the campus chosen, students will have an opportunity to take classes at either location through the Holodeck - we are really pioneering collaborative distance learning. There are so many opportunities here, so many opportunities to be a successful attorney, a successful legal professional . . . the student experience here is priority number one.”
 

You’re originally from Brooklyn, but have spent the last several years in the Midwest. What’s it like being back?

“I was born and raised in New York City and I definitely missed the East Coast, the energy of the people. There are all different types of people represented here. It was great being able to spend the holidays with family. I went to high school in Appleton, Wisconsin and went to St. Olaf College in Minnesota, where I had three majors – Asian studies, religion and political science. I had also studied German for five years. I went to law school at the University of Minnesota and got my master’s in public policy there because I wanted to make a difference in higher education.”

What do you love about your job?

“A law school has the ability to change the world, to improve democracy, to make people’s lives better. (I love that) every time we have a first-year orientation, you see a group of students come in with their own hopes and dreams and then when you see them at graduation, you see the direct impact of the work we’re doing. I see their success. And every year our group of applicants and students is different. I want us to meet the expectations the students had when they applied and that every year they’re here they have a better experience than the year before.

Tell me a little bit more about yourself

“I am working on my Ph.D in higher education and my dissertation is called ‘The development of financial literacy for low-income first generation community college students of color.’ I hope to finish writing it this year and defend it in the fall. I also love cooking and entertaining, movies, and reading – especially about economics.”