DE222 Honoree: Philip Closius – Delaware Business Times

Title: Dean

Workplace: Wilmington University School of Law

Alma Maters: University of Notre Dame, Columbia Law School

Q&A: What was your first job? “Summer job at international paper company in New York City.”

Phillip Closius is the founding dean of Wilmington University School of Law, a major expansion of Wilmington University designed to cater to working adults interested in advancing careers. Closius previously served as the dean of the University of Baltimore School of Law and The University of Toledo College of Law, where he increased bar passage rates at both by 30% and job placement rates by 20%, while spearheading the two largest jumps for a law school in the history of the U.S. & World News Report annual rankings. Under his tenure, WilmU is facing its test of accreditation in early 2025.