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Professor Sam Kalen is Associate Dean and Centennial Distinguished Professor of Law at Wyoming College of Law. An expert in energy, public lands and natural resources as well as environmental and administrative law, Professor Kalen founded and is now the co-Director of the Center for Law and Energy Resources in the Rockies.

Prior to Joining the Wyoming College of Law, he held various adjunct or visiting teaching positions at the University of Baltimore, Florida State University, Washington & Lee University, and Penn State University. He is the author of many scholarly articles, including publishing in Florida Law Review, Colorado Law Review, Marquette Law Review, Rutgers Law Review, Ecology Law Quarterly, NYU Environmental Law Journal, and Duke Environmental Law and Policy; and one of his articles was quoted by a dissenting Justice in a Supreme Court opinion. 

Also, he recently published, along with a co-author, a book by Cambridge University Press (2018), entitled ENERGY FOLLIES.  Before teaching, Professor Kalen practiced in Washington, D.C. for over 20 years, both in the private and public sectors. His private practice work focused on energy, environment, as well as public lands and natural resources law; and he worked primarily on public lands and natural resources when serving in the Solicitor’s Office at the Department of the Interior during the Clinton Administration. Immediately after law school, Professor Kalen began his career as a law clerk for Justice Warren D. Welliver of the Missouri Supreme Court. Professor Kalen is active in the American Bar Association’s Section on Environment, Energy, and Resources, having served as a Chair of two committees and Vice-Chair on several committees.

“We are delighted to have Professor Kalen as part of our IU McKinney community,” said IU McKinney Dean Karen E. Bravo. “We are grateful to the McKinney family for making this opportunity possible and know that our students, faculty and wider legal community will benefit greatly from his impressive legal scholarship and experience.”

The Robert H. McKinney Family Chair in Environmental Law was established with funding from the McKinney Family Foundation and was awarded for the first time in 2020. The school’s namesake, Mr. McKinney, and his family consider environmental sustainability as an integral aspect to the future of Indiana and their foundation serves as an advocate in this area.