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Dear School of Law Faculty, Staff and Students,

I am pleased to announce that Elizabeth Porter has agreed to serve as Interim Toni Rembe Dean of the School of Law, effective Jan. 1, 2022, until a new dean is selected. We will appoint a search committee and launch a national search for a new dean in January.

Professor Porter joined the UW in 2010 and holds the Charles I. Stone Endowed Professorship in Law. She serves as co-director of the School’s Appellate Advocacy Clinic and associate dean for academic administration. She was awarded the Distinguished Teaching Award in 2014.

After earning her law degree from Columbia University, Professor Porter clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg and Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Sidney R. Thomas. She also holds a master’s degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a bachelor’s degree from Brown University. Her research areas include civil litigation and procedure, visual media and the law, and the federal courts. Her publications have appeared in the Columbia Law Review, the Cornell Law Review, and the N.Y.U. Law Review, among others. She is co-editor of a forthcoming book from N.Y.U. Press, A Guide to Civil Procedure: Integrating Critical Legal Perspectives.

As interim dean, Professor Porter will focus on financial responsibility and maintaining momentum on key issues, especially DEI-related work.

As announced in October, Dean Mario Barnes is leaving the School of Law, effective Dec. 31, and moving back to California to be closer to his family. I would like to thank Dean Barnes for his outstanding leadership as dean and contributions to the School and the UW.

Professor Porter is a highly respected teacher, scholar and colleague within and beyond the School of Law, and I thank her for taking on this leadership role.

Sincerely,

Mark A. Richards
Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs
Professor, Earth and Space Sciences