Stephen L. Ball ’10 joins Harvard Law School as dean of students

Stephen L. Ball ’10 has been appointed Harvard Law School’s new dean of students, starting March 7. He returns to Harvard from his most recent role at Wells Fargo, where as a senior vice president and strategy lead, his work has recently focused on advancing their commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

In a message to the Harvard Law School community, John F. Manning ’85, the Morgan and Helen Chu Dean and Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, and Dean of Student Services Jessica Soban ’07 introduced and welcomed Ball to HLS.

“Stephen is warm, generous, caring, and dedicated to supporting the well-being and flourishing of all our students,” they wrote. “His time as a student here, his broad knowledge of our profession, and his demonstrated commitment to mentorship and to fostering the aspirations and talents of others make him an excellent choice to be our new dean of students. So, please join us in welcoming Stephen back to Harvard Law School.”

At Wells Fargo, Ball had also served as chief of staff to the company’s vice chairman of public affairs and as head of state and local government relations for the Northeast region. Before joining Wells Fargo, Ball held senior positions at Airbnb and AAA Insurance. He began his legal career as a litigation associate at Baker & Hostetler.

“This is such a tremendous opportunity on both a professional and personal level,” said Ball. “It builds on what I accomplished in my previous roles, while also allowing me to embrace an entirely new challenge. Being able to bring all of that together for a place that I care so much about is deeply inspiring. I am honored to have the chance to impact the student experience at HLS and looking forward to innovating and improving upon the terrific foundation that’s already there.”

The dean of students promotes the well-being of students and works collaboratively to build and implement a strategic vision for how the office can most effectively support students, starting with new student and transfer orientations and spanning through commencement. This involves, among other responsibilities, creating enriching student programming, helping prepare students for the Bar application process, connecting students to resources across the school and university, mentoring individual students, and overseeing major campus events ranging from orientation to commencement.

A Metro Detroit native and a first-generation college student, Ball earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Michigan, before attending Harvard Law School. He is currently involved with several community service organizations, serving on the boards of directors of Mount Vernon Star Scholars in Mount Vernon, New York and Young People Travel Global Edge, a Detroit-based nonprofit, and as executive sponsor of the NY/NJ chapter of Wells Fargo’s Black/African-American employee resource network.