Barbara Gontrum served as Senior Associate Dean. She was the administrative and student services dean responsible for oversight of student affairs, registration and enrollment, career development, and administrative affairs. Administrative affairs includes human resources, budget and financial operations, submission of grant proposals, and facilities. She represented the School of Law on various UMB committees and was responsible for ensuring law school compliance with all relevant accreditation standards. She also oversaw the Master of Science in Law (MSL) program.
Dean Gontrum joined the faculty in 1979 as library director after holding the position of Associate Law Librarian at the Duke University Law Library. She subsequently became Assistant Dean for Library and Technology. During her time as library director she played a leadership role in academic law libraries, serving as chair of the Academic Law Libraries Special Interest Section of the American Association of Law Libraries and as chair of the Section on Law Libraries of the Association of American Law Schools. She served twice as chair of the Council of Library Directors for the University System of Maryland for a total of seven years. Dean Gontrum has served on many site evaluation teams for the American Bar Association, including as chair. She served as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs from 2013 – 2020 and was named Senior Associate Dean in 2017.