FAYETTEVILLE -- Cynthia Nance began July 1 as interim dean for the University of Arkansas School of Law, taking the appointment after Alena Allen stepped down as the law school's interim leader.
Nance previously served as UA's law dean from 2006-11.
Allen began serving as interim dean in January and will remain a UA law professor after stepping down June 30, but with fewer teaching assignments as she takes on a new role outside the university.
In August, Allen is set to begin working as deputy director of the Association of American Law Schools, a nonprofit organization with more than 170 member law schools, according to the association's website. The organization advertised the deputy director job as less than full time and as a "mostly remote position with occasional travel."
The university has said that a national search will take place to find a replacement for the previous law dean, Margaret Sova McCabe, who remains a law professor and also is a senior adviser for strategic projects at UA.
Nance's pay has increased to $300,237 as interim law dean, up from her previous salary of $211,851, which was for a nine-month appointment, UA spokesman John Thomas said.
Allen's annual pay is now $187,528 for the 2022-23 academic year in a 12-month appointment, down from $255,000.
The UA law school -- which began teaching students in 1924 -- had never had a Black dean or a woman serving as dean until Nance's appointment in 2006.
Since then, UA's law school has continuously been led by women.