Retired NC Supreme Court justice named NCCU law school dean

DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) -- A retired North Carolina Supreme Court justice is the new dean of the North Carolina Central University law school.

On Monday, the university named Patricia Timmons-Goodson as the law school's new dean effective July 1.

"I'm very elated that former North Carolina Supreme Court Associate Justice Patricia Timmons-Goodson will be joining our team at NCCU and look forward to working with her and her team as we advance the mission of the law school by preparing a significant cadre of the nation's future jurists," said Dr. David H. Jackson Jr., provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs.

Timmons-Goodson was appointed to the state Supreme Court in 2006 by former Gov. Mike Easley, and she was the first Black woman to sit on the state's highest court.

Timmons-Goodson worked as a prosecutor and later as a legal-aid lawyer. At 29, she was appointed a district court judge and subsequently elected three times.

In 1997, she was appointed as an associate judge of the North Carolina Court of Appeals.

Timmons-Goodson received her bachelor's and juris doctor degrees from UNC-Chapel Hill and an L.L.M. from Duke University Law School.

She is married to Dr. Ernest J. Goodson and they are the parents of two adult sons.