Penn Carey Law School Appoints First Female Dean

The University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School has appointed its first-ever female dean.

Sophia Lee, who has been a law and history professor at Penn since 2009, will take on the dean position starting July 1. Lee succeeds Ted Ruger, who will conclude his term as Penn Carey Law’s dean on June 30 after eight years in the role, The Daily Pennsylvanian reports.

“Sophia Lee is a proven leader and a consensus builder,” Penn President Liz Magill says in an announcement. “A superb scholar and teacher of constitutional and administrative law, she is deeply dedicated to Penn Carey Law and to the people — faculty, staff, students, and alumni — who are central to its work. She embodies Penn Carey Law’s core values. Sophia Lee is the right leader at the right time to elevate Penn Carey Law’s status to even greater heights.”

PAST ACCOMPLISHMENTS AS DEPUTY DEAN

Dr. Lee joined the Penn Carey Law faculty in 2009 as an assistant professor of law. Since joining, Lee has held a variety of leadership and service roles at both the school and university level. She was the law school’s deputy dean from 2015 to 2017, serving a full two-year term under Dean Theodore W. Ruger. In her tenure as deputy dean, Lee helped overhaul Penn Carey Law’s Legal Practice Skills program and served on multiple University committees, including the Social Responsibility Advisory Committee.

“A beloved member of the Penn and Penn Carey Law communities, she is widely admired not only for her own ideas but for her commitment to cultivating the ideas of others,” says Provost-designate John L. Jackson, Jr., the Walter H. Annenberg Dean of the Annenberg School for Communication. “Everyone who knows Sophia is impressed by her ability to bring people together in the pursuit of common goals. Penn and Penn Carey Law will benefit tremendously from her leadership.”

Dr. Lee earned her BA and MSW from the University of California, Berkeley, and her JD and PhD in history from Yale. Before joining the Penn Carey Law faculty in 2009, she was a clerk for the Honorable Kimba M. Wood of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.

“I am thrilled for this opportunity to serve the faculty, staff, students, and alumni who have given me so much during my time at Penn Carey Law,” Dr. Lee says. “I look forward to working together to build on the law school’s defining strengths, ensure that we remain at the forefront of scholarly excellence, and prepare our graduates for fulfilling lives of practice, leadership, scholarship, and service at the highest levels.”

Sources: The Daily Pennsylvanian, University of Pennsylvania

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