Spring break was on the horizon at UNLV in 2020 when the global pandemic unexpectedly shuttered the university.
Sara Gordon, then the associate dean for academic affairs at the William S. Boyd School of Law, quickly sprung into action to help the school transition to virtual learning.
Gordon was there every step of the way, said law professor Lydia Nussbaum, detailing how her colleague secured Zoom licenses for the faculty, hosted how-to tutorials on how to use the technology, and managed access to the law library.
She also provided the opportunity for input from staff and students about “what was working and what wasn’t,” Nussbaum said.
Those are only a few examples of the many pragmatic decisions Gordon has taken as an administrator, a sample on “how she buckles down and gets the job done,” Nussbaum said.
When Gordon was tapped to lead the law school as interim dean, it likely didn’t come as a surprise to staff, faculty or students.
“It was really sort of a remarkable moment when (they) asked me to do it and to know that I had the support of the faculty," Gordon said.
Her goals as interim dean include navigating a post-pandemic world, welcoming back students and staff to in-person teaching, and for the law school to continue offering free legal help for the Las Vegas community.
A native Las Vegan, Gordon has been with the UNLV law school for more than 15 years, where she climbed the ranks from an adjunct professor teaching legal writing to a venerated tenured professor specializing in criminal law, evidence, and mental health law. She became the associate dean in 2018.
Asked if she would consider staying at the helm as dean permanently, her answer was a quick and resounding, “No.” The reasoning is simple: She loves teaching too much.
“I think she’s an excellent choice for the job,” Nussbaum said. “And ironically what makes her such a good choice is that it’s not about her and her ambition, it’s really about fostering the institution.”
Attending law school was always the goal for Gordon while earning her undergraduate degree in psychology at Pitzer College in Claremont, Calif. She was later accepted to the James E. Rogers College of Law at the University of Arizona, where she used her undergraduate expertise to focus on psychology and mental health law.
Always passionate about writing, she became the managing editor for the Arizona Law Review, which helped lead her back to Las Vegas and an adjunct position teaching legal writing at UNLV in 2006.
“I would have never guessed that I would end up teaching at UNLV,” Gordon said. “I love teaching. I’ve loved teaching since the first time I did it.”
There’s something about interacting with students and watching them grow that’s one of the most rewarding parts of her career. There are also the yearly ceremonies she’s attended where newly minted lawyers, some of whom were her students, get admitted to the State Bar of Nevada.
“Teaching is the fun part,” she said. “Connecting with students in the classroom; seeing them understand something for the first time; hearing from them to say that you really helped them understand something, it’s just incredibly gratifying.”
Take an email she recently received from a former student thanking her. Thanks to her instruction in an evidence class, the student could discern what was happening while observing a trial.
“I’m just really fortunate that I really like my job, I love the people I work with — both faculty and staff — I love my students,” she said.
Nussbaum hasn’t had the pleasure of seeing her colleague teach in a classroom setting, but she hears about it from students who tell her how personable she is and how her lessons are customized to students' individual knowledge levels.
“They just think the world of her,” Nussbaum said. “She’s got a great rapport with students. She keeps things current. There’s nothing stale about her teaching.”
Gordon expects that the law school’s new leader will be identified by the new year to give that person a few months to get acclimated to the job and the community before taking over next July.
In the interim, the school is in good hands with Gordon, who is “true to form (about) being of service to the institution and doing everything she can to make it a better place,” Nussbaum said. “And to make it a more effective place, and to make it a more friendly place ... a good place for people to learn.”