{"id":218,"date":"2015-12-09T21:10:08","date_gmt":"2015-12-10T03:10:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/about\/?page_id=218"},"modified":"2026-02-05T15:40:24","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T21:40:24","slug":"president-and-dean","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/about\/president-and-dean\/","title":{"rendered":"President and Dean"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"introduction-wrapper\">\n<h2>Camille M. Davidson<\/h2>\n<h3>Committed to helping students find their purpose through legal education<\/h3>\n<p>A native of Oxford, Mississippi, Davidson earned a bachelor\u2019s degree from Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi, and a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center. She spent the first 13 years of her career as a practicing attorney, working in the public sector and also in private practice. In 2004, she began a transition to education as an adjunct at Davidson College, followed by stints at Charlotte School of Law and Wake Forest University School of Law. In 2020, she became dean at Southern Illinois University Simmons Law School. In 2024, Davidson became the third president and dean at Mitchell Hamline School of Law and the first Black woman to serve as president and dean at Mitchell Hamline or any of its predecessor schools.<\/p>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-sm-6\">\n<div class=\"card\">\n<div class=\"card-header\">\n<h3 class=\"card-title h5\">Camille Davidson Facts<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"card-body\">\n<p><strong>Hometown:<\/strong> Born and raised in Oxford, Miss.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Family:<\/strong> Husband Trevor Fuller, son Jackson, daughter Schuyler<\/p>\n<p><strong>J.D.<br \/>\n<\/strong>Georgetown University Law Center<\/p>\n<p><strong>Postgraduate Rotary International Ambassadorial Scholar<\/strong><br \/>\nUniversity of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya, East Africa<\/p>\n<p><strong>B.A.<br \/>\n<\/strong>Millsaps College, Jackson, Miss.<\/p>\n<p><a title=\"President and Dean Camille M. Davidson\u2019s First 125 Days\" href=\"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/first-125-days\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-1113 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/about\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/11\/First-125-Days-feature.jpg\" alt=\"President and Dean Camille M. Davidson\u2019s First 125 Days\" width=\"800\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/about\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/11\/First-125-Days-feature.jpg 800w, https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/about\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/11\/First-125-Days-feature-300x150.jpg 300w, https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/about\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/11\/First-125-Days-feature-768x384.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col-sm-6\">\n<div id=\"attachment_1087\" style=\"width: 810px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone h4\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1087\" class=\"mt-5 wp-image-1087 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/about\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/08\/Camille-Davidson-7x7-1-1024x1024.jpg\" alt=\"Camille Davidson\" width=\"800\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/about\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/08\/Camille-Davidson-7x7-1-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/about\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/08\/Camille-Davidson-7x7-1-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/about\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/08\/Camille-Davidson-7x7-1-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/about\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/08\/Camille-Davidson-7x7-1-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/about\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/08\/Camille-Davidson-7x7-1-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/about\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/08\/Camille-Davidson-7x7-1-2048x2048.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-1087\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">\u201cTrue access to justice means that we&#8217;re able to train people from their communities so that they&#8217;re able to go back to their community and serve those communities. And Mitchell Hamline does such an amazing job of doing that.\u201d<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/biographies\/person\/camille-davidson\">Biography and bibliography<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h3>The draw to Mitchell Hamline<\/h3>\n<p>Davidson saw in Mitchell Hamline \u201cthe best of two things that were important to me\u201d\u2014a trusted source of legal talent for the state and region as well as the national leader in innovative approaches to legal education. She called blended learning \u201cthe cutting edge of the future of legal education that has extended access to many who would have had no other way to earn a J.D. So many schools are trying to figure out how to do hybrid and online delivery of legal education, but the blended program to me is the standard which so many other law schools are looking at as a how-to manual.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The other strong draw to Mitchell Hamline was the chance to lead an independent law school. After learning the fundamentals of legal teaching and administration at Charlotte Law and then leading a law school at SIU but within the larger university system, she\u2019s excited by the opportunity to lead a freestanding law school, in partnership with the board of trustees, especially one committed to making it possible for all kinds of people from all kinds of backgrounds, geographies, and life situations to figure out their own \u201cwhy\u201d through the study of law.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/news\/2024\/08\/07\/finding-the-why\/\">Finding the Why: A profile of Camille Davidson<\/a><\/p>\n<h3>Camille Davidson in the news<\/h3>\n<ul class=\"default\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/nationaljurist.com\/the-25-most-influential-people-in-legal-education\/\">The 25 Most Influential People in Legal Education<\/a> features Camille Davidson, National Jurist, January 2026<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/minnlawyer.com\/2025\/08\/21\/2025-minnesota-top-women-in-law\/\">Top Women in Law 2025<\/a> features Camille Davidson, Minnesota Lawyer, August 2025<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/tcbmag.com\/notable_category\/2025-notable-women-in-law\/\">Camille Davidson named to 2025 Notable Women in Law list<\/a>, Twin Cities Business Magazine, April 2025<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bizjournals.com\/twincities\/news\/2025\/03\/04\/2025-power-shift-camille-davidson-mitchell-hamline.html\">Camille Davidson named as Power Shift 25 leader<\/a>, Minneapolis\/St. Paul Business Magazines, March 2025<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/tcbmag.com\/tcb_year\/2025\/\">The TCB 100 List<\/a> features Camille Davidson, Twin Cities Business Magazine, December 2024<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/news\/2024\/10\/17\/camille-davidson-installed-as-third-president-and-dean-of-mitchell-hamline\/\">Camille Davidson installed as third president and dean of Mitchell Hamline<\/a>, Mitchell Hamline News, October 2024<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/minnlawyer.com\/2024\/09\/03\/mitchell-hamline-dean-settles-in-builds-ties\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Mitchell Hamline dean settles in, builds ties<\/a>, Minnesota Lawyer, September 2024<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/thesouthern.com\/news\/camille-m-davidson-earns-women-of-distinction-award\/article_5ec071de-28c1-5070-9092-4949b4c3cb73.html?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR13tt0cOQJ1m_O3LzWk9Hr3m1tazB3g6dx1r_0Foy_VZcLNeDvASTWwfkM_aem_Qd4GnqHN39ledPEgjaMA_A\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Camille M. Davidson earns Women of Distinction Award<\/a>, The Southern, May 2024<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/news\/2024\/02\/26\/mitchell-hamline-names-new-president-and-dean\/\">Mitchell Hamline names new president and dean<\/a>, Mitchell Hamline News, February 2024<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theeducationmagazine.com\/camille-davidson\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Camille Davidson: A champion of legal education nurturing the next generation<\/a>, theeducationmagazine.com<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Camille M. Davidson Committed to helping students find their purpose through legal education A native of Oxford, Mississippi, Davidson earned a bachelor\u2019s degree from Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi, and a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center. She spent the first 13 years of her career as a practicing attorney, working in the public sector &hellip; <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/about\/president-and-dean\/\" class=\"more-link\">President and Dean<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":{"0":"post-218","1":"page","2":"type-page","3":"status-publish","5":"entry","6":"has-post-thumbnail"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/218","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=218"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/218\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1337,"href":"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/218\/revisions\/1337"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mitchellhamline.edu\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=218"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}