Dean of Duke University School of Law plans to step down
Kerry Abrams will step down as the dean of the Duke University School of Law in late June 2027, a year earlier than planned, according to an Aug. 25 news release. (Photo by John M. Chase/Getty Images)
Kerry Abrams will step down as the dean of the Duke University School of Law in late June 2027, a year earlier than planned, according to an Aug. 25 news release.
In early August, the U.S. Department of Justice found that the law school intentionally discriminated against white and Asian students in admission processes after a yearlong federal investigation, accusing the law school of violating Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in admissions to its 2023, 2024 and 2025 incoming classes.
A university spokesperson told the Duke Chronicle, the student newspaper at Duke University, that Abrams’ decision to step down had “nothing to do with the DOJ investigation and findings.”
Abrams, who became the dean July 1, 2018, informed the university’s provost of her plans to step down about two months before the department’s findings were released.
“I believe our school is in the best position that we have been in in our history,” Abrams said in the news release. “And it is therefore a perfect time to pass the baton.”
Under her deanship, the school started its Center for Firearms Law and its Wilson Center for Science and Justice.
In 2022, the law school withdrew from providing information to the U.S. News & World Report’s 2026 rankings of best law schools, alongside other top law schools, because of decisions stemmed from concerns with the rankings’ methodology and purpose.
Abrams will remain as a law professor, according to the news release, and the university will conduct a national search for her successor.
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