Summary: Kimberly Yuracko, one of their own professors, was named the dean of Northwestern Pritzker School of Law.
Northwestern Pritzker School of Law didn’t have to look long or far for a new dean. The school announced the appointment of Kimberly Yuracko, the Judd and Mary Morris Leighton Professor of Law at the law school, as their dean, effective September 1, according to a report from the school.
Provost Jonathan Holloway said, “President Schapiro and I are extremely pleased that Professor Yuracko has accepted our offer. Her talents as a legal scholar focusing on antidiscrimination law in employment and gender equity in education are well suited for leading our great law school, and she has excelled in a number of administrative roles at Northwestern Law.”
Dean Daniel Rodriguez added, “I am pleased that my colleague Kim Yuracko has been appointed as Northwestern Law’s next dean. Her long experience at Northwestern will serve her well. I wish Kim the very best and will look forward to working with her as a colleague in helping her and her team to take Northwestern Law to even greater heights.”
Yuracko served as the interim dean in 2011. She will be succeeding Rodriguez, who is stepping down this summer. She has been with the law school since 2002, previously serving as their associate dean for academic affairs: faculty and research from 2009 to 2010. She now holds a joint appointment in the political science department in Northwestern’s Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences.
She said, “Northwestern Law is rich with brilliance, energy, collaboration and kindness. This is an extraordinary community, and I am honored to serve as the next dean. I look forward to working closely with President Schapiro, Provost Holloway and the entire Law School community in the coming years.”
Yuracko is known for her leadership at the University. She serves on the Provost’s Advisory Council on Women Faculty, has served on the Provost Selection Faculty Advisory Group, the Search Committee for Associate Provost of Diversity and Inclusion and the Catalyst Working Group, and is co-chair of the Organization of Women Faculty.
Some of her accomplishments include publishing “Gender Nonconformity and the Law” in 2016 by Yale University Press and “Perfectionism and Contemporary Feminist Values” in 2003 by Indiana University Press. She has also gained her reputation as a scholar of employment law, antidiscrimination law and gender equity with numerous articles in notable journals and with accolades and awards for her teaching.
She earned her bachelor’s degree from Stanford University in political science and feminist studies. She also earned a Ph.D. in political science and a J.D. from Stanford University. She clerked for Honorable Gary L. Taylor, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California and Honorable Stanley Marcus, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in Miami.
She is married to Michael Barsa, a professor of practice at Northwestern Law. They have two children together.
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