Stanford Law School Names New Leader
Kathleen M. Sullivan, a constitutional law expert long rumored as a probable candidate for a federal court appointment, has been named the new dean of Stanford University Law School.
The law school, regarded as one of the nation’s 10 best, selected Sullivan, 43, after a five-month nationwide search. She has been on Stanford’s faculty since 1993, when Stanford President Gerhard Casper and others wooed her from Harvard Law School’s faculty.
Sullivan, a proponent of the Socratic teaching method, has won teaching awards at both law schools. Besides co-editing a popular textbook on constitutional law, she has emerged as a high-profile legal scholar. She speaks widely on legal trends and rulings, and isn’t shy about mixing it up with counterparts on televised news broadcasts.
A member of President Clinton’s transition team in 1992, she has been rumored to be on the short list of potential nominees to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Sullivan will assume her new position in September, replacing Paul Brest, who is returning to the faculty after a dozen years as dean.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
