LaVonda N. Reed, associate provost for faculty affairs at Syracuse University, has been named dean of the College of Law at Georgia State University.

Reed, the daughter of Brenda Tonkins Reed and the late Col. Henry L Reed (USMC) of Mathews and Fort Washington, Md., will be the seventh dean in the college’s history and the first African American to lead the College of Law.

Reed joined the faculty at Syracuse University College of Law in 2006. Her research and teaching are in the areas of wills and trusts, property, and communications regulatory law and policy.

Since 2015, Reed has been the associate provost for faculty affairs, where she is responsible for supporting more than 1,700 faculty members. She has oversight of research and administrative leaves, promotion and tenure review, policy development and enforcement, and awards, among other duties. She also has been responsible for the stewardship and oversight of the Lender Center for Social Justice, as well as the steward...