Statement by Suzanne Valdez: Departure from KU Faculty Position::

Yesterday, January 28, 2021, I resigned from the University of Kansas as a full-time faculty member. I will no longer be a Full Clinical Professor of Law and the Connell Teaching Chair at the KU School of Law. I have greatly valued teaching, advising, and mentoring a generation of KU Law students for the past 21 years. While at KU, I taught upper level practical skills courses, and I developed the nationally recognized Deposition Skills Workshop. I taught legal and prosecutorial ethics, and I co-authored a law school textbook titled, “Prosecutorial Ethics.” In addition to my teaching and scholarship, I served the university community in many ways, including as University Faculty Senate President, where I advocated for fair and equitable treatment of faculty, staff, and students. For faculty and staff, I spoke out on issues related to racial injustice and gender inequity. For students, I voiced the importance of addressing campus sexual assault in a trauma-informed manner.