Amir Law — Dean of Business, Health, Athletics, Work Experience and Kinesiology, who also serves as Athletic Director — took December off on family medical leave. He had an epiphany while he was gone.
“Last year was just a rough year medically for my family,” Law said. “I realized that it was time for me to take a step back from the job for a while to take care of my family. It’s not an easy decision for me but me being there for my family is more important.”
So Law is stepping down from his administrative position. His last day is Jan. 21. He held the position for three years.
“It’s not easy to say goodbye,” Law said, fighting back the emotions as he looked around his office in the 2500 building. “It’s going to be hard to say goodbye to a lot of good folks. It’s okay, though. The walls look a bit bare. I’m waiting to take down the back wall because that’s when it gets real.”
Law said he feels completely comfortable stepping away now because he believes he is leaving the school and the athletic program in a better position than when he took over. He had some noteworthy accomplishments in his relatively short time on campus.
“Working with Mary Hargiss, we’ve been able to revamp the work experience program,” Law said. “Before I took over as dean and before she took over as program coordinator, there were typically 20 students each semester in those classes. This semester we’re running it at almost 200 students. We’re doing internships and getting credit for it.”
Law was also able to get multiple teachers tenure and hire more teachers for the kinesiology program. The number of courses offered increased under his watch.
Also under Law’s watch, some of the athletic programs took off. The swim team produced Esteban Perez Del Rio, who won the first state championship in school history. The basketball team had a close-to-perfect graduation and four-year university placement rate. The soccer team added two conference titles to the list of accolades in the athletics programs.
He also increased the social media presence of the athletic program, including live streaming games.
Which is Law most proud of? He said bringing women’s volleyball to Las Positas.
“Seeing that program start to start to build and grow,” he said. “I think last year was a growing pain year and there will be growing pains here just because it’s new. And that’s the way things go. But knowing the strength of volleyball in this area. I think in very short order, that’s going to be one of, if not our most, successful athletic program here at LPC.”
He leaves his position with some unfinished business.
He wanted to get all the fields built. The school has plans for a new soccer field, anew softball field and a second gym. There are even plans to add a student life center.
“I also wish we were able to hire more full time coaches so we could build those programs,” Law said. “But in exchange we got a lot of full time professors in business and in kinesiology, so we were still able to build our programs.”
It hurts him to not see those projects through. He wants to enjoy the spoils of what they built. But the tug of family is too strong. And he believes in the team of people who worked alongside him. So now is the time.
“We’re just in such a good place,” he said. “We have such a good team. I know that as I do step away to spend more time with my family. Since we built such a strong team, the team’s going to keep on going in the right direction. Now they’re going to be able to get to the next level, you know. Whenever the new dean starts, they’ll be inheriting a team that works really well together and knows what success looks like.”
Devin Bradshaw is the editor in chief of The Express. Follow him @DevinBradshaw_.
