Photo by Ken Williams and Monitor File

John Hutson, dean of Franklin Pierce Law Center, plans to retire next summer. He has held the job for 11 years.

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With retirement plans on the horizon and a probable UNH-Franklin Pierce merger in the pipeline, it's unlikely Dean John Hutson will have the time to become a "lame-duck" law school president, but it's still one of his fears.

Hutson, 63, announced to faculty by e-mail last week that he plans to leave Franklin Pierce Law Center next summer. That leaves Hutson less than a year and a half to finalize and implement the merger with the University of New Hampshire - assuming the university okays the plan this spring - as well as find a replacement that can finish what he started and keep the school moving forward. Finding someone to fill Hutson's shoes won't be an easy task, friends and colleagues said this week.

"The school is in a very good place right now, but change is good, too. We can bring somebody in with fresh energy, new ideas and different kinds of experiences than I brought to the task," Hutson said Wednesday of his impending retirement. "That said, I'm going to be a lame duck for a long time."

Hutson's departure will follow his 11-year tenure serving as head of the state's only law school - a "tremendous amount of time" for a dean to stay in one place, said Eric Norman, vice president and CFO of Franklin Pierce.

"It's almost like dog years - one year equates to seven," Norman said. "John came in at a time when the school needed strong and stable leadership. He brought a really steady presence here, and it has remained."

While Hutson, a former top-ranking Naval commander, speaks modestly of his professional accomplishments, peers readily portray him as a leader whose dedication and forward vision have transformed Franklin Pierce from a respectable law school to a top-notch educational institution renowned for its faculty, intellectual property and honors programs.

State Supreme Court Justice Carol Ann Conboy, a Franklin Pierce alumna who sits on the school's board of trustees, pointed to Hutson's work to implement the Daniel Webster Scholar Honors Program in 2005 as an example of his forward-thinking leadership. Upon acceptance and completion of the two-year program, students become members of the state bar without taking the bar exam. In exchange, they spend time preparing their portfolios and get real-world legal experience ahead of graduation.

Hutson's involvement with the program, which has garnered national recognition from schools and legal foundations alike, required coordination among the law center, state judiciary and various legal agencies, said Conboy, but it paid off.

"From the beginning, we recognized (Hutson's) ability to work with board members, faculty and students. He really is a consensus builder," said Conboy, who sat on the search committee that hired Hutson. "He was excited about moving the law school to another level, which he has done, in my view."

John Garvey, director of the Daniel Webster program, credited part of the program's success to Hutson's willingness to take a risk on what others at the time described as "visionary."

"In law schools all around the country, there's often resistance to substantial change in the method of teaching students . . . to do something different or expensive," said Garvey, who served with Hutson in the Navy. "John is the one who invested the resources of the school in something he thought would benefit the students. It's been successful beyond our wildest dreams."

Hutson's journey to Franklin Pierce was preceded by an extensive military service. Originally from Michigan, Hutson for years served as an attorney and rear admiral in the U.S. Navy. In 1997, he was appointed to a three-year term as Judge Advocate General of the Navy.

During George W. Bush's presidency, Hutson was an outspoken critic of torture, testifying before Congress multiple times and joining several retired military officers in writing an open letter to Bush condemning the alleged abuse of prisoners in U.S. custody. (next page »)