Assistant Dean for Student Services and Engagement
Biography
Jennifer Powell is an experienced higher education administrator and nonprofit leader with over twenty years’ work in higher education, with a particular focus on career services, public interest and public service law, community engagement, and student wellbeing. She currently serves as the Assistant Dean for Student Services and Engagement at the West Virginia University College of Law, where she leads student affairs programming for three hundred law students.
Prior to serving as Assistant Dean for Student Services at WVU Law, Jennifer served as the Director of the Center for Law and Public Service at WVU Law for eight years, which included the roles of Executive Director of the WV Fund for Law in the Public Interest and externship director. In this position, she worked to raise significant funds for public interest fellowships and built externship opportunities in public service. Her first role at WVU Law was as the Assistant Dean for Career Services, where for eight years she led a comprehensive career services and professional development program for over 450 WVU Law students.
Jennifer is a licensed attorney and a licensed graduate social worker, and she blends her legal expertise and social work background to provide counseling, career advising, and student support, always advocating for student well-being. She is also a sought-after presenter on resilience, burnout, and professional identity development, presenting at CLE conferences and CE conferences for licensed social workers.
In addition to her work at WVU, she has been involved in state and national professional organizations, including NALP, NALSAP, Equal Justice Works, the West Virginia Access to Justice Commission, and the Lawyer Well-Being Task Force. Her dedication to education and service has been recognized with multiple awards, including the WV Bar’s More Than a Lawyer award, the WVU College of Law’s Staff Member of the Year, and the Dean’s Values Coin Award. She holds a J.D., M.S.W. , and B.A. from West Virginia University. She is also a committed community volunteer, and she currently serves on the United Way of Monongalia and Preston County WV Board of Directors.
Education
- B.A., English, WVU, 1988
- M.S.W., Social Work, WVU, 1992
- J.D., WVU, 1997
