Mary Elizabeth Magill Named 13th Dean of Stanford Law School
STANFORD, Calif., July 24, 2012—Mary Elizabeth Magill, vice dean of the University of Virginia School of Law and a scholar of administrative and constitutional law, has been named dean of the Stanford University Law School, Provost John Etchemendy announced today.
“Everyone who knows Liz Magill is impressed by her creative and insightful approach to problems and her skill at engaging a community in their solution,” Etchemendy said. “At a time when law schools must adapt to fundamental changes in the legal profession, it is hard to imagine finding a more capable dean to lead the school and the legal academy into the future.”
Magill, who is the Joseph Weintraub-Bank of America Distinguished Professor of Law and the Elizabeth D. and Richard A. Merrill Professor at Virginia, will assume her new position Sept. 1. She will succeed Larry Kramer, who has served as dean since 2004. Kramer will depart Stanford on Aug. 31 to head the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.
“Liz will bring to her deanship an enthusiasm that inspires students and colleagues and a capacity to help everyone around her realize their academic and professional ambitions, whatever those may be,” Kramer said. “On top of that, she perfectly fits Stanford Law School’s unique commitment to interdisciplinary work and its embrace of innovative change in legal education.”
At Stanford, Magill will oversee 650 students and 55 faculty at one of the nation’s leading institutions for legal scholarship and education. Its alumni are among the most influential decision-makers in law, politics, business and high technology. Faculty members argue before the Supreme Court, testify before Congress, produce outstanding legal scholarship and empirical analysis, and contribute regularly to the nation’s press as legal and policy experts. The school has also established a new model for legal education that provides rigorous interdisciplinary training, hands-on experience, global perspective and focus on public service.