South Texas College of Law Houston president to step down

Donald Guter is a retired Navy admiral. Donald Guter is a retired Navy admiral. Photo: CHUCK KENNEDY, Knight Ridder Tribune Photo: CHUCK KENNEDY, Knight Ridder Tribune Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close South Texas College of Law Houston president to step down 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

Donald Guter, the president of South Texas College of Law Houston, announced this week that he will leave his position in 2019, at the end of his contract.

Guter, who started as president and dean in 2009, conveyed his decision to alumni, faculty and staff in emails this week. He will remain in his role until the end of the 2018-2019 academic year, which is when his contract is up.

The school just heard from the American Bar Association that it will remain fully accredited, making the timing of his email "appropriate," he wrote in the email.

"I believe this will give us appropriate time to search for the law school's 11th President and Dean," he wrote. "With a smooth transition, the new President will have ample time to prepare for our next capital campaign and the 100th anniversary of the founding of the law school."

Guter is a retired Navy rear admiral who previously served as dean of Duquesne University School of Law in Pittsburgh.

The college in 2016 attempted to create a stronger tie to Houston by changing its name to Houston College of Law. The University of Houston fought back, contending that prospective law students would be confused by the similarity of the name and similar color schemes used by the two colleges.

U.S. District Judge Keith P. Ellison ruled that UH was likely to win on the merits on its claim that it had established a strong trademark. The parties ultimately settled the case before it went to trial and South Texas tweaked its name, using a variation of its former name with the word Houston at the end and updating its school color scheme, logos and branding.

Gabrielle Banks contributed reporting.

Lindsay Ellis writes about higher education for the Chronicle. You can follow her on Twitter and send her tips at lindsay.ellis@chron.com