Joan Arnold Returns to Villanova to Bring Decades of Tax Experience to the Classroom

Beginning in the Fall 2026 semester, Joan Arnold will join Villanova University's Graduate Tax Program as Professor of Practice, bringing decades of experience in international taxation, private practice and more.

For Arnold, the move represents both a new chapter and a homecoming.

A Villanova Law alumna, Arnold joined Citibank after graduating and spent 10 years working in-house before transitioning to academia as a full-time faculty member at Rutgers Law School. She later returned to practice, joining Pepper Hamilton, where she spent three decades building one of the region's most respected tax practices and serving as chair of the firm's Tax and Benefits Practice for 27 years.

Even while practicing law, Arnold taught continuously throughout her career, including more than two decades teaching tax courses at Villanova. When she retired from active legal practice at the end of 2025, she knew she wanted to devote more of her time to teaching and mentoring the next generation of tax professionals.

"I knew I really wanted to get back into teaching and into the classroom in a more significant way," Arnold said. "I'd like to bring to the students a lot of what I can pass on from my lengthy career in the active practice of law."

That commitment to students has long been one of the driving forces behind Arnold's career. While she has served in numerous leadership roles throughout the tax profession—including chairing the Tax Section of the American Bar Association and serving as president of the American College of Tax Counsel—she points to her work with students and young attorneys as one of her greatest accomplishments.

"What I'm really proud of is the number of associates I've trained and moved on to great careers and the students that still write to me from my teaching 30 years ago," she said.
 

Arnold's approach to teaching extends beyond the technical aspects of tax law. For her, the most rewarding moments come when students begin to see connections for themselves.

"When a light bulb goes off in somebody's head and you can see it, it's just really rewarding," Arnold said. "When people tell me that I have helped them in their careers, it means a lot to me." 

This fall, Arnold will teach International Taxation in the Graduate Tax Program before moving into the JD curriculum in the spring with Taxation of Business Entities. Drawing on decades of client work, she hopes to help students think critically about identifying and solving complex problems.
 

"To solve a client's problem, you have to identify the problem because the client doesn't always know what the problem is. If you can define the right problem, then figuring out how to approach it is the really interesting part."

Arnold also brings a deep interest in the history of taxation, which she believes is critical to understanding the modern tax system.

"When I teach, I talk a lot about how we got where we are," Arnold said. "Part of the problem is that if you don't know the history, you don't know how to interpret what's going to happen." 

As she begins her new role, Arnold is looking forward to becoming part of the Villanova community once again and engaging with both students and colleagues across the University.

"The interaction with the students and the faculty—it's being part of a community," she said. "Villanova is great at community."

With a distinguished career in practice, a passion for teaching and a lifelong commitment to mentoring future professionals, Arnold is poised to make an immediate impact on Villanova's Graduate Tax Program.

"Villanova is a great training ground for business lawyers, and there's so much to do in that field," she said. "I feel like a kid in a candy store."