Farewell frost!
October 30, 2024
Kimberly Yuracko, the Judd and Mary Morris Leighton Professor of Law at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, has been appointed dean of the Law School, effective Sept. 1.
“President Schapiro and I are extremely pleased that Professor Yuracko has accepted our offer,” said Northwestern Provost Jonathan Holloway. “Her talents as a legal scholar focusing on antidiscrimination law in employment and gender equity in education are well suited for leading our great law school, and she has excelled in a number of administrative roles at Northwestern Law.”
Yuracko, who served as interim dean of Northwestern Law in 2011, succeeds Daniel Rodriguez, who is stepping down this summer. Yuracko joined the Northwestern Law faculty in 2002 and served as its associate dean for academic affairs: faculty and research from 2009-2010. She holds a joint appointment in the department of political science in Northwestern’s Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences.
During her tenure at Northwestern, Yuracko has gained national renown as a scholar of employment law, antidiscrimination law and gender equity. Her books include “Gender Nonconformity and the Law,” published in 2016 by Yale University Press (designated as a Choice Outstanding Academic Title), and “Perfectionism and Contemporary Feminist Values,” published in 2003 by Indiana University Press, as well as numerous articles in distinguished journals. She also has won accolades and awards as a teacher.
“Northwestern Law is rich with brilliance, energy, collaboration and kindness. This is an extraordinary community, and I am honored to serve as the next dean,” Yuracko said. “I look forward to working closely with President Schapiro, Provost Holloway and the entire Law School community in the coming years.”
Widely recognized as a University leader, Yuracko serves on the Provost’s Advisory Council on Women Faculty, is co-chair of the Organization of Women Faculty and has served on the Provost Selection Faculty Advisory Group, the Search Committee for Associate Provost of Diversity and Inclusion and the Catalyst Working Group.
“I am pleased that my colleague Kim Yuracko has been appointed as Northwestern Law’s next dean,” said Dean Rodriguez. “Her long experience at Northwestern will serve her well. I wish Kim the very best and will look forward to working with her as a colleague in helping her and her team to take Northwestern Law to even greater heights.”
Yuracko earned a bachelor’s degree with distinction in political science and feminist studies, a Ph.D. in political science and a law degree, all from Stanford University. She went on to clerk for the Honorable Gary L. Taylor, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California and later for the Honorable Stanley Marcus, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in Miami.
Yuracko is married to Michael Barsa, who is a professor of practice at Northwestern Law and also a novelist. They have two children, a son, aged 8, and a daughter, aged 4.
