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Writer's picturePatricia Salkin

Law Dean Laura Rosenbury Just Announced as Next President of Barnard College Effective July 2023

Updated: Apr 28



With the announcement that Laura Rosenbury has been named President-elect of Barnard College, by Fall of 2023, the presidents of NYU, Fordham, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Cooper Union, Brooklyn College and Barnard College, in New York City will all be woman lawyers. They join a lawyer president at Kings College. Hunter College President, lawyer Jennifer Raab, announced she will be stepping down at the end of this academic year as is Lee Bollinger at Columbia University.


Rosenbury is the first woman to serve as dean of the University of Florida Levin College of Law in Gainsville, FL, where for the last eight years she has also been the Mabie & Levin Professor of Law. In announcing her appointment, Cheryl Milstein, the Chairwoman of the Board of Trustees said, “Laura’s appointment is a culmination of a life and career dedicated to empowering women.” Ina Drew, co-Chair of the Search Committee and Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees, said, “it was not just her incredible biography and remarkable scholarship that led to the unanimous decision by the board, but also her character and belief in the mission of our liberal arts college. Her devotion to an arts and science education, thoughtful and strategic approach to leadership, and striking emotional intelligence demonstrated that Barnard and Laura Rosenbury are a perfect match.” President-elect Rosenbury has a long list of impressive accomplishments at the University of Florida.


A graduate of Harvard Law School, Rosenbury clerked for Judge Carol Bagley Amon of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, and for Judge Dennis Jacobs of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. She also served as a litigation associate at the Big Law firm Davis, Polk & Wardwell in New York City (a number of lawyer presidents had previously been employed at Davis, Polk). She also served as a law professor (2002 – 2015) and vice dean (20120-2015) at Washington University School of Law in S.t Louis. She visited at Harvard, Stanford and the University of Chicago law schools. A scholar on feminist legal theory, she is the co-author of Feminist Jurisprudence: Cases and Materials.


*Update: In April 2024, the Barnard Faculty AAUP Chapter reported a vote of "no confidence" in her leadership - https://thebarnardbulletin.com/2024/04/27/barnard-faculty-members-of-the-aaup-unanimously-vote-to-issue-a-statement-of-no-confidence-in-president-rosenbury/

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