As of 1 September 2016 Professor Mel Kenny LL.B, LL.M., Dr. jur. has started to perform his duties as RGSL incoming rector. The RGSL Constitutional Assembly unanimously selected him as rector so that only approval of the appointment by the Cabinet of Ministers is awaited.
RGSL offers study programmes in English in international and EU Law. This means that, to ensure an international focus and to attract students to study at RGSL, the new rector should be internationally recognized and acknowledged as well as possessing academic skills and the ability to provide good leadership.
Appointing Professor Kenny as rector has already contributed to RGSL goals, in that he has organized several events. For example, in June 2016 he gave a talk on the UK referendum on EU membership: The UK in the EU: to be or not to be? which attracted considerable attention. Then on 6 September he organized a guest lecture on Administrative legal decision making and private law presented by Professor Allan Beever from Auckland University of Technology.
Professor Kenny was director of the Centre for European Legal Studies at the prestigious University of Exeter Law School (UK). In 2001 he received a doctorate in law from the University of Bremen (Germany). His academic experience has been highly valued at such universities as Leipzig, Bremen and Lucerne, where has lectured in commercial law, consumer law and finance law.
Since 2008 Professor Kenny has been a visiting lecturer at RGSL, where he has lectured in consumer law and finance law, both areas important to RGSL. He has thus had a chance to get to know the Latvian academic environment. In addition, Professor Kenny is the author of many publications and books issued through internationally recognized publishing houses. During his work he has attracted funding for research, for instance, from the Marie Curie programme.