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Associate Dean for Admissions and Financial Aid (retired) Robert V. Stanek was born in a small town in western Pennsylvania in 1944. He received his B.A. from Pennsylvania State University in 1966, then taught high school for several years, later working as a counselor with an Army Education Center in Germany. He continued in the education field as a financial aid officer after arriving in Washington, DC, in 1972. In 1974, Dean Stanek began his career with GW Law as Director of Admissions. In 1975, he entered law school at GW, graduating in 1979, all the while heading the Admissions Office. He was admitted to the District of Columbia Bar in 1979.
In 1979, Dean Stanek was appointed Assistant Dean, and in 2001 he became Associate Dean for Admissions and Financial Aid. He was the Visiting Associate Executive Director of the Law School Admissions Service in Newtown, Pennsylvania (1993-1994).
Dean Stanek presided over the Admissions and Financial Aid office during a period of tremendous application activity. Applications for a seat in the first year GW Law class doubled from approximately 6,000 in the mid-seventies to nearly 12,000 by 2003. Throughout this time, Dean Stanek held firm to his practice of making sure each application received a fair and thorough review. During the “high season,” November through May, he routinely took stacks of applications home on the weekends, determined that each applicant receive equal treatment. A goal of Dean Stanek’s admissions process was to seek students from a wide variety of backgrounds, experiences, races, ages, and economic milieux to ensure a rich dialogue in the classroom.
In 2006, he was awarded the Jacob Burns Award for Extraordinary Service to the George Washington University Law School, which honors that person who has actively assisted the Law School in its academic and civic mission.
Dean Stanek retired in 2006 after thirty-two years of service to GW Law.
Interviewer:
Jennie C. Meade, Director of Special Collections
Interview Date/Location:
Wednesday, May 25, 2011, in the Stockton Cellar at the Law Library, GW Law.