Law School Deans Who Became College/University Presidents

For a very long time, the typical path to becoming a college/university president was serving as a provost. In recent years, however, appointing law school deans to college/university president roles has become more and more common. We compiled the below list of college/university presidents with backgrounds as law school deans—let us know if you know of any others at info@spiveyconsulting.com!

List of College/University Presidents Who Served as Law School Deans

• Hiram Chodosh: Dean of the University of Utah College of Law (2006–2012), President of Claremont McKenna College (2013–present)
• Kent Syverud: Dean of Vanderbilt Law School (1997–2005), Dean of Washington University School of Law (2005–2013), Chancellor of Syracuse University (2014–present)
• Michael Fitts: Dean of the University of Pennsylvania Law School (2000–2014), President of Tulane University (2014–present)
• Frank Wu: Dean of Wayne State University Law School (2004–2008), Dean of UC Hastings Law (now UC Law San Francisco) (2010–2015), President of Queens College, City University of New York (2016–present)
• John Gotanda: Dean of Villanova University School of Law (2011–2016), President of Hawai‘i Pacific University (2016–present)
• Geoffrey Mearns: Dean of Cleveland State University College of Law (2005–2010), President of Ball State University (2017–present)
• Christopher Pietruszkiewicz: Dean of Stetson University College of Law (2012–2018), President of the University of Evansville (2018–present)
• Eduardo Peñalver: Dean of Cornell Law School (2014–2021), President of Seattle University (2021–present)
• Vincent Rougeau: Dean of Boston College Law School (2011–2021), President of the College of the Holy Cross (2021–present)
• Song Richardson: Dean of the University of California, Irvine School of Law (2017–2021), President of Colorado College (2021–present)
• Cathy Cox: Dean of Mercer University School of Law (2017–2021), President of Georgia College & State University (2021–present)
• Jennifer Collins: Dean of SMU Dedman School of Law (2014–2021), President of Rhodes College (2021–present)
• Lisa Kloppenberg: Dean of Santa Clara University School of Law (2013–2021), Acting President of Santa Clara University (2021–present)
• Susan Poser: Dean of the University of Nebraska College of Law (2010–2016), President of Hofstra University (2021–present)
• M. Elizabeth Magill: Dean of Stanford Law School (2012–2019), President of the University of Pennsylvania (2022–present)
• Michael Schill: Dean of UCLA School of Law (2004–2009), Dean of the University of Chicago Law School (2009–2015), President of the University of Oregon (2015–2022), President of Northwestern University (2022–present)
• Nora Demleitner: Dean of Hofstra University School of Law (2007–2012), Dean of Washington and Lee University School of Law (2012–2015), President of St. John's College - Annapolis (2022–present)
• Jennifer Mnookin: Dean of UCLA School of Law (2013–2022), Chancellor of the University of Wisconsin, Madison (2022–present)
• Laura Rosenbury: Dean of the University of Florida Levin College of Law (2015–2023), President of Barnard College (2023–present)
• Danielle Holley: Dean of Howard University School of Law (2014–2023), President of Mount Holyoke College (2023–present)
• Rob Vischer: Dean of St. Thomas School of Law (2013–2022), President of the University of St. Thomas (2023–present)
• Garry Jenkins: Dean of the University of Minnesota Law School (2016–2023), President of Bates College (2023–present)
• Dennis Shields: Dean of Phoenix School of Law (2005–2008), Chancellor of the University of Wisconsin—Platteville (2010–2022), President-Chancellor of Southern University System (2022–present)
• Thomas Mengler: Dean of the University of St. Thomas School of Law (2002–2012), President of St. Mary’s University (2012–2024)
• David Wippman: Dean of the University of Minnesota Law School (2008–2016), President of Hamilton College (2016–2024)
• Russell Osgood: Dean of Cornell Law School (1988–1998), President of Grinnell College (1998–2010), Dean of Washington University School of Law (2021–2024)
• JoAnne Epps: Dean of Temple University School of Law (2008–2016), President of Temple University (2023)
• Lee Bollinger: Dean of the University of Michigan Law School (1987–1994), President of the University of Michigan (1996–2002), President of Columbia University (2002–2023)
• David Leebron: Dean of Columbia Law School (1996–2004), President of Rice University (2004–2022)
• John Garvey: Dean of Boston College Law School (1999–2010), President of The Catholic University of America (2010–2022)
• Joyce McConnell: Dean of West Virginia University College of Law (2008–2014), President of Colorado State University (2019–2022)
• Stuart Rabinowitz: Dean of Hofstra University School of Law (1989–2001), President of Hofstra University (2001–2021)
• Daan Braveman: Dean of Syracuse University College of Law (1994–2002), President of Nazareth College (2005–2020)
• David Van Zandt: Dean of Northwestern Law (1995–2011), President of The New School (2011–2020)
• Phoebe Haddon: Dean of the University of Maryland School of Law (2009–2014), Chancellor of Rutgers University - Camden (2014–2020)
• Gary Roberts: Dean of Indiana University School of Law (2007–2013), President of Bradley University (2016–2020)
• David Yellen: Dean of Hofstra Law School (2001–2004), Dean of Loyola University Chicago School of Law (2005–2016), President of Marist College (2016–2019), Dean of the University of Miami School of Law (2022–present)
• W. Taylor Reveley: Dean of William & Mary Law School (1998–2008), President of the College of William & Mary (2008–2018)
• Harvey Perlman: Dean of the University of Nebraska College of Law (1983–1998), Chancellor of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (2001–2016)
• Tom Galligan: Dean of the University of Tennessee College of Law (1998–2006), President of Colby-Sawyer College (2006–2016), Dean of Louisiana State University Law Center (2016–2019)
• John Sexton: Dean of NYU School of Law (1988–2002), President of NYU (2002–2015)
• William Powers: Dean of the University of Texas at Austin School of Law (2000–2006), President of the University of Texas at Austin (2006–2015)
• Mark Yudof: Dean of the University of Texas School of Law (1984–1994), Chancellor of the University of California system (2008–2013)
• Colin Diver: Dean of the University of Pennsylvania Law School (1989–1999), President of Reed College (2002–2010)
• Antonio García Padilla: Dean of the University of Puerto Rico School of Law (1986–2001), President of the University of Puerto Rico (2001–2009)
• Donald Walsh: Dean of University of Arkansas School of Law (1998-1999), President of University of Arkansas System (2000-2008)
• Gene Nichol: Dean of University of North Carolina School of Law (1999–2005), President of College of William & Mary (2005–2008)
• Lewis Collens: Dean of Chicago-Kent College of Law (1974–1990), President of Illinois Institute of Technology (1990–2007)
• Daniel Bernstine: Dean of the University of Wisconsin Law School (1990–1997), President of Portland State University (1997–2007)
• Jeffrey Lehman: Dean of the University of Michigan Law School (1994–2001), President of Cornell University (2003–2005)
• Thomas Jackson: Dean of the University of Virginia School of Law (1988–1991), President of the University of Rochester (1994–2005)
• Anthony Santoro: Dean of Widener University School of Law (1983–1992), Dean of Roger Williams University School of Law (1992–1993), President of Roger Williams University (1993–2000)
• James Douglas: Dean of Texas Southern University School of Law (1981–1995), President of Texas Southern University (1995–1999)
• James Freedman: Dean of the University of Pennsylvania Law School (1979–1982), President of the University of Iowa (1982–1987), President of Dartmouth College (1987–1998)
• Peter Agnew: Dean of the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law (1982–1989), President of Reed College (1989–1994)
• Michael Sovern: Dean of Columbia Law School (1970–1979), President of Columbia University (1980–1993)
• Paul Verkuil: Dean of Tulane University Law School (1978-1985), President of College of William & Mary (1985–1992), Dean of Cardozo School of Law (1997–2001)
• August Kenneth Pye: Dean of the Duke University School of Law (1968-1970, 1973-1976), President of Southern Methodist University (1987-1994)
• Benno Schmidt: Dean of Columbia Law School (1984–1986), President of Yale University (1986–1992)
• Robert Stearns: Dean of the University of Colorado Law School (1935–1939), President of the University of Colorado at Boulder (1939–1953)