Distinguished legal scholar and teacher L. Song Richardson is the next dean of the University of California, Irvine School of Law, effective Jan. 1, 2018, becoming the only woman of color to serve in this role among U.S. News & World Report’s top 30 law schools.

“Song Richardson is a brilliant scholar and inspirational leader, and we are excited that she will become the second dean of UCI Law,” said Chancellor Howard Gillman. “She is the perfect person to work with our great faculty, students, staff and community partners to accelerate the law school’s ascendancy as one of the country’s most important and influential institutions of legal education.”

UCI Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Enrique Lavernia said that Richardson was selected after a nationwide search following the departure of founding dean Erwin Chemerinsky in May. 

“We’re proud and pleased to find the ideal candidate within our campus,” Lavernia said. “The law school is lucky to be able to draw on the energy, brilliance and leadership of Dean Richardson, especially during this time of change in the nation and in legal education. I am grateful to the search committee and its chair, Professor Bryant Garth, for their thoughtful work in helping us select such an exemplary new dean."

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