Northern Kentucky University’s Chase College of Law named Jeffrey Standen as its new dean on July 1, 2013, replacing former dean Dennis Honabach.

 
Honabach announced last fall that he would be stepping down to join Chase’s faculty after holding the position as dean for seven years.

 
“Initially, I was contacted by a friend. That’s how I learned about [Chase],” Standen said. “I spoke to a number of my friends across the country who had warned me off of many other schools and deanships. These people said that [Chase] is a good place. I thought ‘Yeah, that’d be a good fit for me.’”

 
Standen said that he plans to spend his first semester as dean by getting to know the students of Chase.

 
“The students, at least on paper, can all look the same because of standardized tests, so it’s easy to assign people a number,” Standen said. “I’m really making it my business to get to know my students. I plan to eat lunch with my students whenever I can.”

 
Prior to being named the Dean of Chase, Standen was the Associate Dean of Faculty at Willamette University College of Law in Salem, Ore., where he was responsible for faculty development, program development, academic standards and curriculum.

 
“Willamette is a private school and [Chase] is public,” Standen said. “The schools are very similar [though]. They’re of similar size. The entering classes are similar in terms of their profiles and credentials.”

 
Standen specializes in sports and gaming law. He said sports law is the culmination of several different types of law.

Antitrust, labor, and contract laws impact sports leagues, and gaming law has to do with federal and state regulations on the gaming industry. According to Standen, gaming law regulates gambling operations like casinos, offshore gambling and charitable gambling.

 
Standen is currently writing a book on gaming law entitled “The Beauty of Bets.” He said it will examine sports gambling and whether it hurts or helps games. The book will be published by Oxford University Press, and he hopes to have it finished in a year.

 
Standen has also been interviewed by organizations such as ESPN, The New York Times, Slate, and Forbes.

 
In addition to practicing sports law, Standen enjoys playing and watching sports.

 
“I played [hockey] growing up a lot. I love to, in person, watch a hockey game,” Standen said. “I also love to watch golf on television once in awhile because the pressure on those athletes is enormous. It also allows me to take my Sunday afternoon nap.”

 
Standen earned his law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law and his bachelor’s degree in government from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.