Portraits of Leadership: Looking Back with UCLA Law’s Former Deans
UCLA Law Magazine | Summer 2025 | Volume 47
A Groundbreaking Appointment
Susan Westerberg Prager | 1982-98
Dean Prager entered UCLA Law as a student in 1968. In 1982, she became the first female dean of the law school— one of only two in the country.
“I was surprised at how warmly I was welcomed, especially by the older alumni,” she said. Because she had been on the faculty since 1972 and had served as associate dean to Dean William Warren, people within the school already knew her well.
“When I was appointed, I was ready,” she said. “Dean Warren had taught me so much and included me in meetings with key people on campus. I continued pursuing his agenda, centered on the need to expand our building and establish a fundraising effort.”
She saw the school’s location as a major strength. “Los Angeles offers so much opportunity and a diverse population,” she said. She cited the importance of the clinical program, one of the first in a law school, enabling students to address real-life problems while learning basic skills— something not ordinarily included in law school curricula at the time.
Among the challenges she faced as dean were earthquakes, building additions, her service as president of the Association of American Law Schools, the 1992 Los Angeles riots, and, at the school’s 40th anniversary celebration, an outside protest aimed at the speaker, then–California Gov. George Deukmejian.
Throughout her tenure, Prager appreciated the strong support of Chancellor Charles E. Young. She remains the longest-serving dean in UCLA Law’s history.
Tough Challenges, Fun Times
Jonathan D. Varat | 1998-03
Two years before Dean Varat’s appointment, California adopted Proposition 209, decreasing student diversity. But, Varat said, “invigorated outreach and recruitment” at UCLA Law restored a diverse student body. Although the national financial crisis in 2000 required fiscal belt-tightening, the school kept moving forward. Following the 9/11 attacks in 2001, Varat’s primary concerns were assuring the well-being of students and alumni and maintaining a caring school environment, one “not subject to inappropriate reactions.”
Some of the fun times: the dean’s annual backyard barbecue for first-year students and a student fundraiser that charged a fee to drop Varat into a dunk tank. Former Dean Richard Maxwell teased Varat, saying he himself had never done “swimming for dollars.” Other highlights Varat recalled include joining a student-organized event with former Vice President Al Gore, welcoming former Secretary of State Warren Christopher as commencement speaker, and having Leon Panetta present for the 50th anniversary of the law school.
Varat saw the school as “a home, a family, an extraordinary place of intellectual engagement, where remarkable people come together to better education, justice, and humanity. Our students, faculty, alumni, and communities are the heart and soul of what we do.”
Overcoming Obstacles, Making Friends
Michael Schill | 2004-09
During the Great Recession of 2008, Dean Schill worried that gifts to the school would “precipitously decline.” During this time, he remembered driving home from a basketball game with alumnus David Epstein ’64, who had recently made a large gift to name the Epstein Program in Public Interest Law and Policy. On the drive, Epstein said that despite significant losses in the market, the gift was the best thing he had ever done.
“I was so happy,” Schill said, “because that is what you want as a dean— to accomplish something meaningful for both the donor and the school. Giving remained strong, which reflects the great love that alumni have for the school.”
He averted a crisis early in his tenure, when 10 faculty members had offers to go elsewhere. “If we were to maintain our prominence as one of the great American law schools, we needed to retain them,” he said. Working with Ann Carlson, he managed to keep almost all of them, and most of them remain on the faculty.
Schill treasured the friends he made at the school, among them two people he continued to speak with almost every week for many years thereafter. “I quite unexpectedly gained a second set of parents in Ralph and Shirley Shapiro,” he said. “I will always love them deeply.”
A Community of Excellence
Rachel Moran | 2010-15
“UCLA Law’s strength comes from its people— students, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends,” Dean Moran said. “Each year, all the incoming students are academically accomplished, but many also have achieved distinction in other fields. I remember one who took a leave of absence to perform on Broadway in In the Heights. After a rewarding run, he finished his J.D. and sang at graduation.”
From the dean’s office, Moran got a bird’s-eye view of the school’s many constituencies. She said that while they held different visions and aspirations, all were “committed to academic excellence and the belief that law can make a difference. They shared a responsibility to use law for good.”
One of Moran’s great pleasures was “recruiting faculty to join this outstanding intellectual community. I also was happy — and relieved — to fend off many efforts to poach our illustrious faculty.”
At first, Moran was reluctant to ask donors for gifts, but she knew that this was part of being dean. “I was trained never to ask for money,” she said. But once she recognized that she wasn’t asking for herself but “for a great institution,” she found ways for donors to make “satisfying investments that advanced the law school, legal education, and the state of law itself.”
Adaptation, Growth, and Achievement
Jennifer Mnookin | 2015-22
When the pandemic hit in 2020, “UCLA Law had to pivot almost over- night to remote learning, and, well, remote everything,” Dean Mnookin said. “It was hugely challenging, but also inspiring to see our community being so creative, persevering, and nimble in tremendously difficult circumstances.” She said that what made UCLA Law so special before, during, and after that time was “the deep sense of community, the incredible focus on training students to be exceptional lawyers and leaders, and the faculty, staff, and alumni commitment to excellence and to each other.”
Buoyed in significant part by record fundraising, the law school established many new centers and institutes during Mnookin’s tenure as dean. New experiential learning opportunities for students were developed, among them the Immigrant Family Legal Clinic, the Documentary Film Legal Clinic, and the Veterans Legal Clinic. Also launched under Mnookin’s leadership was the cutting-edge Master of Legal Studies program.
“The U.S. News rankings need to be taken with a large — giant! — grain of salt,” Mnookin said, “but I confess that I’m proud and grateful that we broke into the T14 during my time as dean. But I’m even prouder of the amazing faculty we hired and retained and the students whose careers we launched.”
Though she is now chancellor of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, Mnookin remains a Bruin for life. “I learned so much from colleagues at the law school and across campus and made lifelong friends,” she said. “I’ll root for the Bruins against anyone except the Badgers!”
Interim Deans
Norman Abrams | 2003-04
“I came to the law school in 1959. It has grown from a faculty of 12 to one of over 70; from a school with no national presence to being one of the leading schools in the nation; a school marked by innovative programs in research and clinical practice and centers of excellence in many fields; a school that even as an emeritus professor, I still take pride in being part of.”
Stephen C. Yeazell | 2009-10
“I’ve been privileged to teach at the school since 1975 and can say that it and the surrounding campus— and the other UC campuses— are an extraordinary collection of students, faculty, and staff. Both within the school and on the broader campus, I have witnessed a humbling level of creativity, goodwill, and inspiration. Colleagues, students, and staff have encouraged, inspired, and supported me for what will be 50 years. I am grateful beyond words.”
Russell Korobkin | 2022-23
“There is no question that the best day of the year was graduation. At the ceremony, more than 550 J.D., LL.M., and M.L.S. graduates felt intense pride in themselves and appreciation for the institution that had helped them get to that place. Having the opportunity to represent the law school, both sharing a few words of wisdom with the graduates and their families and shaking the hand of each graduate as they received their diplomas, was truly an honor that I will never forget.”
Read more in the 75th Anniversary edition of the UCLA Law magazine.
Celebrating 75 Years of UCLA Law
Join the dean of UCLA School of Law, Michael Waterstone, UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk, and distinguished faculty, students, and alumni as we celebrate 75 years of UCLA Law. This video tribute honors our history of legal innovation and vision for shaping tomorrow's legal landscape. From groundbreaking scholarship to producing leaders who have transformed the practice of law, UCLA Law continues its tradition of excellence while looking boldly toward the future.