Dean - Higher Education Employment and Governance

Specialties & Experience of this Expert Witness

Additional Information

Dr. Steven Elias serves as an expert witness in higher-education litigation involving tenure and promotion, faculty and administrator terminations or non-renewals, due-process claims, policy and procedure compliance, and institutional grievance processes. His work focuses on evaluating the reasonableness of institutional decision-making, adherence to governing policies, and alignment with accepted practices in higher education. Dr. Elias currently serves as a sitting Dean at an AACSB accredited public university, where he has direct responsibility for faculty personnel decisions, including hiring, contract renewal and non-renewal, workload assignments, tenure and promotion decisions, and administrative roles. His experience includes interpreting and applying institutional policies, managing institutional decision making processes, and making decisions under budgetary, performance, and organizational constraints. His expertise includes distinguishing between administrative discretion and institutional obligation. With more than 20 years of experience in higher education, he has held multiple academic leadership roles, including Dean, Associate Dean, Department Head, Doctoral Program Director, and Graduate Coordinator, providing him with direct, hands-on experience in the policies and procedures that are frequently at issue in faculty and administrator employment disputes. In addition to his administrative leadership, Dr. Elias is an accomplished scholar whose work includes more than 20 peer-reviewed publications, edited volumes and book chapters, and millions of dollars in competitive grant funding. His academic background informs a rigorous, evidence-based approach to expert analysis and reporting. Dr. Elias has testified in federal court and has been deposed. He routinely assists counsel with case evaluation, expert reports, deposition preparation, and litigation strategy. He is known for producing clear, well-supported opinions that are accessible to courts while grounded in the operational realities of higher-education institutions. He serves as a neutral expert and has worked with both plaintiffs and defendants.