Appeal of Law College Draws Visiting Professor to Permanent Faculty

After spending last fall at the Michigan State University College of Law as a Visiting Professor teaching Contracts, Professor Stephen Wilks returns this August as a full-time MSU Associate Professor of Law. “This is something I wanted to be a part of,” said Professor Wilks, an associate professor at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law from 2019-2021.

“I thought the atmosphere was very welcoming,” he said of his decision to return to MSU as a tenured professor. “I was very attracted to the research-intensive environment. There are a lot of interesting projects going on. This is a flagship institution. It’s an R1 (research) school and, because of that, you have the opportunity to connect with a lot of people who are seriously committed to their research output.”

A native of Kingston, Jamaica, Professor Wilks grew up in Toronto, Canada. He earned his J.D. in 1999 from Queen’s University in Kingston, Canada. In 2007, he earned his Master of Laws in Securities Regulation from the Osgoode Hall Law School at York University in Toronto. Four years later, Professor Wilks completed his Ph.D., also from Osgoode Hall Law. His dissertation was titled, “Rethinking the Dynamics of Remittance Regulation Within the Context of Networked Global Governance.”

In addition to his most recent faculty appointment at Detroit Mercy, Professor Wilks has taught at Lincoln Memorial University’s Duncan School of Law in Tennessee, Valparaiso University Law School in Indiana, and Case Western Reserve University School of Law in Cleveland. Professor Wilks brings years of experience in research and teaching. His areas of expertise include Contracts, Commercial Transactions, and Business Enterprises.  

“Research is also important to me,” he said. “My past projects have explored themes of governance and regulation with a particular focus on social justice.”

He also demonstrated his conference planning skills in April when he helped the Mercy School of Law host the Midwestern People of Color Legal Scholarship Conference in Detroit which drew law college professionals from across the country. The theme was, “What is the Law’s Role in the Building and Preservation of our Culture?”

To that end, he invited MSU College of Law Dean Linda Sheryl Greene, one of the founders of the conference, to record a welcome message to the participants. Working with her was also one of the reasons he was excited to join MSU.

“I’m really excited to be working under her leadership,” he said. “And I’m excited to be joining the college. I think it will be a really engaging and wonderful intellectual community.”