Law Schools

Heather Gerken Is Yale's First Female Dean, But Hopes She Won't Be The Last

She's using her time as dean to inspire more women to pursue leadership roles.

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Ed. note: Welcome to our daily feature, Quote of the Day.

It’s a real honor to be the first female dean in our 200-year history. I was overwhelmed by how welcomed I was. I would walk down the halls and have older male alumni reach out and say, ‘It’s about time!’

I also remember what a proud moment it was for the school and how much it was really a source of celebration, so I felt pretty lucky. I owe that debt to every woman who walked these halls before I did.

— Dean Heather Gerken of Yale Law School, in comments given to Law.com on what it’s like to be the first female dean at the most prestigious law school in the country. Gerken went on to speak about the “strong bond” shared by women law school deans, saying that being Yale Law’s first female dean is “a chance to just build out one more model for how to be a woman in leadership.”

Staci ZaretskyStaci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter and Threads or connect with her on LinkedIn.

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