Saru Matambanadzo: New Senior Director of Online Legal Education

Longtime Tulane University Professor Saru Matambanadzo has been named Senior Director of Online Legal Education. This announcement comes as a new leadership team has been assembled to expand Tulane’s innovative online law programs.

Professor Matambanadzo joined the faculty at Tulane in 2010 and brought her expertise in employment law to the online Master of Jurisprudence in Labor and Employment Law (MJ-LEL) program, which first launched in 2015. She has been a strong supporter of the online programs since their inception and looks forward to what they can do for current and future students.

“One of my favorite aspects of the Tulane MJ programs is that they offer life-changing education to our graduates,” said Matambanadzo. “The education our students receive at Tulane changes their lives, providing space to build confidence and develop competencies for often unimagined paths.”

In addition to her new Senior Director of Online Legal Education role, in which she’ll oversee the entirety of online programs, Professor Matambanadzo will be the Faculty Director of the Master of Jurisprudence in Labor and Employment Law program. In this role, she will be responsible for the curriculum, faculty and student experience or those in the online MJ-LEL program.

Professor Matambanadzo is the Moise S. Steeg Associate Professor of Law and the Ratner Family and New Day II Professor in Social Entrepreneurship at Tulane. She is also a nationally known authority on gender and workplace equity, earning her JD from Harvard Law School and her PhD in women’s studies from UCLA.

Among her many career highlights thus far, Professor Matambanadzo was Tulane Law’s inaugural Gordon Gamm Faculty Scholar from 20130-2104. This award supports the work of outstanding scholars. Then, in 2016, she served as the chair of the American Association of Law Schools Section on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Issues.

Professor Matambanadzo’s research areas include Work Law, Pregnancy Discrimination, Legal Personhood, Feminist Legal Theory, Embodiment Theory, Critical Legal Theories, Philosophy and Law, the Legal History of Slavery, Marriage, and Legal Personhood, Legal Pedagogy.

Learn more about Professor Matambanadzo’s background by viewing her curriculum vitae.

Professor Matambanadzo will work with a distinguished leadership team to expand Tulane’s online offerings. The new leadership team includes:

• Professor Elizabeth Townsend-Gard, Deputy Faculty Director of the MJ in Labor & Employment Law—Professor Townsend-Gard is the John Koerner Professor of Law and in this position will have special responsibilities for promoting the program through social media and cultivating stronger ties with its growing alumni base.
• Professor Mark Davis, Faculty Director of the Master of Jurisprudence degrees in both Environmental and Energy Law and Policy—Professor Davis is currently the Director of the Tulane Center for Environmental Law (TCEL) and the Robert Cudd Research Professor of Environmental Law at the law school.
• Professor Chris Dalbom, Deputy Faculty Director—Professor Dalbom is the Assistant Director of the TCEL and leads the Tulane Institute on Water Resources Law and Policy in its efforts drafting a comprehensive water code for the State of Louisiana.
• Jozette Kauffman, Staff Director of Online Legal Education—Kauffman has been integral in leading student recruitment and advising efforts since the founding of the online programs in 2015. She has served as the de facto dean of admissions, dean of students and program administrator during her tenure.

Learn more about the online MJ faculty here.

Tulane’s online Master of Jurisprudence degrees were founded by the now retired Director of Online Legal Education, Joel Wm. Friedman. Tulane Law School Dean David Meyer, said, “The new team will build and expand on our online programs, leveraging the outstanding foundation Joel Friedman built in founding our programs.”

This online master’s program is a formal, academic credential in labor and employment law for HR professionals—whether they carry formal HR titles or are business managers with personnel responsibilities—that allows them to successfully navigate their roles in compliance with state and federal regulations. The program covers everything from creating personnel manuals, to engaging in collective bargaining, to administering benefits, to handling sensitive employee relations issues and more.

Get more information on the online MJ-LEL.

Designed for those who work in or adjacent to heavily regulated energy industries, including oil, gas, electric or nuclear power, this master’s program imparts the knowledge and legal frameworks that structure the field. The program provides tactical, practical legal training to support both regulators and regulated professionals in these complex fields, as well as members of advocacy groups and other organizations influencing public policy and its enforcement.

Learn more about the online MJ in Energy Law.

Working on environmental issues demands deep knowledge of the relevant legal framework. Students in this online master’s program get up-to-the-minute training on the evolving regulations that govern all sides of environmental issues, including businesses, industries, individuals, governmental regulators, environmental groups and more. Students also build knowledge of air and water protections, environmental tort law, pollution and hazardous waste law, and other essential legal issues that can impact their careers, communities and the planet.

Read more about the Online MJ in Environmental Law.

“This is an opportunity to be part of something that’s growing, part of something that’s emerging, and to be part of something that will be very important in the future,” said Matambanadzo of the online programs at Tulane.

Ready to get started? Speak with our admissions team or start your application today.