A new dean will be in charge of the College of Law for the first time in 14 years when classes begin in the fall.

Joe Harroz will take the reigns of the college July 1, stepping in for Andy Coats, who will retire and take dean emeritus status.

Harroz spent 12 years as OU’s general counsel before leaving in 2008 to serve as president of Graymark Healthcare Inc. in Oklahoma City.

According to Daily archives, Harroz said two things mattered to him when deciding to accept the position: the kind of legacy he wanted to leave and how frequently an opportunity like this would be available.

“The last time this was available was 14 years ago,” he said following the March 25 meeting of the OU Board of Regents, where he was officially selected for the position. “For me, I thought about it, and to me the answer was, you can have a chance to be involved with students, and I can do something I am passionate about, which is the law.”

At that meeting, OU President David Boren said the law faculty “overwhelmingly” approved Harroz’ appointment.

Harroz earned an undergraduate degree in economics from OU before receiving a law degree from Georgetown University.

Harroz and Coats’ professional paths have crossed before. Harroz said he was an associate attorney at Oklahoma City law firm Crowe and Dunlevy when Coats served as the firm’s president. When he served as associate counsel for OU, Harroz was also one of the people who asked Coats to apply for the position of dean of the law school, he said.

“Following him, I think, he has big shoes to fill,” Harroz said. “[The building that houses the college is] named Coats Hall. I think there’s an obligation to work hard every day to meet the standards that have been set by him and by the faculty and by the students.”

Coats will remain a part of the law school faculty, taking the title of dean emeritus. He also plans to help Harroz transition into the dean’s suite, Coats said.

“Joe Harroz is a very talented and capable guy, but he doesn’t know the alumni as well as I do ... so my hope is to help him get acquainted with our various constituencies, the bench, the bar and our alums,” Coats said. “And to help him find his way in terms of fundraising a little bit.”

Coats said he is most proud of the renovations of the College of Law building he oversaw, along with reducing student numbers. The college’s largest graduating class in history was in 1988, when it hooded 227 students, and in 1995, 218 Sooners received J.D.s. In 2009, the college graduated 165 students.

“By shrinking the size of the classes, we can do better in terms of providing a more hands on sort of teaching and instruction, and I think that’s been helpful,” he said.

Harroz said he wants to increase OU’s international profile through teacher and student exchanges. However, he said he will work with students and teachers to lay out plans for the college’s future.

“To be successful, there has to be a conversation with the faculty and the students, where you agree upon the goals,” he said. “No one can walk in there and say, ‘I’m the dean, I’m going to mandate these sorts of things.’”