President Sorensen said Mood's wealth of experience, his visibility in the legal community, and his involvement with USC's law school make him an excellent choice to lead the school, which has 700 students and 41 full-time faculty members.

"I am delighted that Frank Mood has agreed to become the interim dean of the USC law school because he is highly regarded in the legal community and throughout South Carolina," Sorensen said. "His familiarity with the law school will ensure a smooth transition as he takes the reins of leadership."

Mood, 65, said he is honored to have been selected for the post, which is being vacated by retiring Dean John Montgomery.

"The law school, like the University of which it is a part, is a great institution," Mood said. "Its march to increasing excellence and prestige in legal education is important to our profession and our state. The law school now finds itself between deans. I am pleased to be asked to assist during this period in ensuring that the initiatives of the past few years continue."

Mood has practiced law in Columbia for 36 years, concentrating on electric and gas utilities, communications, and health care law. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the S.C. Administrative and Regulatory Law Association, the Judicial Conference of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, the Richland County Bar, the South Carolina Bar, and the American Bar Association (ABA). In the ABA, he chairs the Administrative Law and Litigation Committee of the Public Utility, Communications, and Transportation Law Section.

His involvement with USC's law school includes membership on the USC Law School Health Care Advisory Board. He previously was a member and chair of the Law School Partnership Board. Mood is a member of the Newberry Opera House Foundation and the Columbia Urban League Board of Directors.

He also has played a prominent role in education, having served as chair of a Commission on Higher Education Task Force on Institutional and Statewide Planning and Quality Assessment and chair of The Citadel's Board of Visitors.

A Columbia native, Mood grew up in Summerton and attended Summerton schools. He is a graduate of The Citadel and the University of Virginia Law School. Mood will begin his responsibilities later in May.

05/03