Dean Osofsky is Stepping Down
Dear Northwestern Community,
Earlier today, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law Dean Hari Osofsky announced she will step down from her role as dean this summer to lead important new initiatives at Northwestern — addressing challenges related to her deep and long-term interests in the rule of law, energy and climate change. We appreciate her leadership on these exciting University initiatives integral to our strategic priorities and look forward to working with her on them.
We are grateful for Dean Osofsky’s dedication to the Law School and to Northwestern, and for her impactful leadership contributions over the past four years. Since joining Northwestern in 2021, Dean Osofsky achieved notable successes, including hiring nearly one-quarter of the research faculty at the Law School, significantly improving student employment outcomes and recruiting the most selective class in the Law School’s 165-year history each year she was dean. Her impressive fundraising totaled almost $50 million, including three new endowed chairs, significant expansion of student scholarships and major gifts supporting the Bluhm Legal Clinic.
Under Dean Osofsky’s leadership, the Law School launched numerous new programs and centers, including the West Coast Initiative, Center for Racial and Disability Justice, Knox Conversations speaker series, Bluhm Legal Clinic’s LGBTQI+ Rights Clinic, Rivkin Law and Public Advocacy Fellows Program, and Writing Lab. The Law School also re-entered the top 10 in the U.S. News & World Report rankings, was the No. 1 “Go-To Law School for Big Law” in the country for two consecutive years and was ranked No. 7 in the nation for its return on investment of a law degree.
In her new role, she will direct the Energy Innovation Lab and the Rule of Law Global Academic Partnership, both vital initiatives that will have an impact on Northwestern and beyond. Our new Energy Innovation Lab will advance cutting-edge interdisciplinary research on energy innovation in partnership with bi-partisan business, government and non-profit leaders. Since Dean Osofsky launched the non-partisan Rule of Law Global Academic Partnership earlier this spring, it has already grown to more than 150 law schools from six continents. I look forward to the critically needed research, teaching, programming and public education it will develop.
The University will announce an interim dean in the coming weeks. Please join me in thanking Dean Osofsky for her leadership both at the Law School and as she takes on these key roles for the University.