Professor Cristina M. Rodríguez ’00, the Leighton Homer Surbeck Professor of Law at Yale Law School, has been selected as the next dean of Yale Law School, Yale University President Maurie McInnis announced on Dec. 19.
Rodríguez will assume the deanship on Feb. 1, 2026, as the Sol and Lillian Goldman Dean and Professor of Law at Yale Law School.
In her announcement to the Law School community, President McInnis praised Rodríguez, a longtime faculty member of the Law School, for her nationally acclaimed scholarship, wide-ranging leadership experience, dedication to the rule of law, and deep commitment to public service.
“Cristina’s commitment to scholarship, excellence, and service make her the ideal person to lead Yale Law School, and the entire Yale community is fortunate to have such a devoted and experienced leader take the helm,” McInnis said. “I have no doubt that under Cristina’s principled leadership, Yale Law School will continue to produce pathbreaking scholarship and embody the highest ideals of the legal profession.”
Described by her academic peers as a preeminent thinker and steadfast leader in the legal world, Rodríguez’s career spans 25 years in academia and the legal profession. She currently serves as the deputy dean of the Law School, where her scholarship and teaching center on constitutional law and theory, administrative law and process, and immigration law and policy.
“I am deeply honored to be appointed the next dean of Yale Law School. I am grateful to the search committee, my colleagues, President McInnis, and the broader Yale community for their confidence and trust,” Rodríguez said. “Yale Law School stands apart for its intellectual vibrancy, its commitment to the pursuit of ideas through rigorous scholarship and open dialogue, the quality and ambition of its student body, and its dedication to public service,” Rodríguez said. “As dean, I look forward to working with the entire community to pursue the Law School’s critical mission.”
Her recent research has focused on the relationships between administrative and executive governance, and she is the co-author of “The President and Immigration Law” (Oxford University Press, 2020), a nuanced exploration of two centuries of presidential influence over the metes and bounds of American immigration policy, co-authored with Adam B. Cox. At a 2021 symposium, legal scholars called the book a “remarkable scholarly achievement” and a work of “big arguments, grand scale, and historical sweep, yet also institutional detail, political acuity, and legal nuance.”
As a widely published and influential scholar, Rodríguez has authored more than 70 academic articles and essays on constitutional law, administrative governance, and immigration law in the Yale Law Journal, the Harvard Law Review, and numerous other scholarly journals and media publications. She has been a sought-after expert by outlets such as The New York Times, NPR, The New Yorker, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal.
In 2020, Rodríguez was elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, one of the nation’s most prestigious honorary societies. She is a member of the Council of the American Law Institute, as well as the Administrative Conference of the United States, and has been a past member of the Council on Foreign Relations. In recognition of her passion and skill in the classroom, Yale Law Women+ awarded Rodríguez its Excellence in Teaching Award in 2020.
Interim Dean and Shibley Family Fund Professor Yair Listokin ’05 enthusiastically welcomed the news of Rodríguez’s appointment, noting her deep devotion to Yale Law School and commitment to excellence.
“Cristina is deeply committed to our beloved institution. She is widely admired for her steadfast leadership, pathbreaking scholarly work, incisive teaching, and service both to Yale Law School and to the broader legal profession,” Listokin said. “We are incredibly fortunate to have her as the next leader of Yale Law School, and I look forward to working with her and our faculty and staff on a smooth transition.”
Throughout her career, Rodríguez has displayed a commitment to the rule of law and to public service. In 2021, the president appointed Rodríguez to co-chair the bipartisan Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States.
Adam J. White, Laurence H. Silberman Chair in Constitutional Governance at the American Enterprise Institute and co-director of the C. Boyden Gray Center for the Study of the Administrative State at George Mason University, met Rodríguez during their time serving on the commission, where members often had serious disagreements.
“I agreed to participate because I trusted Cristina (and her co-chair, Robert Bauer) to run a serious, even-handed process,” White said. “And she proved to be every bit as trustworthy, even-handed, and open-minded as advertised. I came away from the process deeply impressed with her as a colleague and glad to be her friend.”
Rodríguez joined Yale Law School in 2013 after serving for two years as deputy assistant attorney general in the Office of Legal Counsel at the U.S. Department of Justice. While there, she received an Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service, one of the highest honors given to employees of the Department of Justice, as well as recognition from the White House for her outstanding work.
Richard L. Revesz ’83, AnBryce Professor of Law and Dean Emeritus, New York University School of Law, praised Rodríguez’s record in both academia and public service as she prepares to lead Yale Law School.
“Cristina Rodríguez is a towering figure in the world of public law scholarship. She has written pathbreaking articles in the fields of administrative law and immigration law that reflect both exceptional intellectual creativity and deep institutional knowledge. Her extraordinary academic accomplishments coupled with her high-level government service, admirable values, and deep integrity will make her an extraordinary dean.”
Since joining the faculty, Rodríguez has contributed to the University and Law School communities in numerous roles. In addition to being deputy dean, Rodríguez has served as co-chair of Yale’s University Committee on Institutional Voice, appointed by President McInnis; co-director of Yale Law School’s Global Constitutionalism Seminar; chair of the Academic Appointments Committee at the Law School; and as a member of numerous other committees that have worked to improve the student experience and intellectual environment at Yale.
Rodríguez also currently serves as faculty co-director of the Carol and Gene Ludwig Program in Public Sector Leadership, part of The Tsai Leadership Program. The Ludwig Program helps prepare students for careers in government, the nonprofit sector, and other institutions focused on serving the public. As part of The Tsai Leadership Program, Rodríguez has led several events in the Crossing Divides series to bring together leaders from across the ideological spectrum to model open inquiry and robust debate to students.
Martha Minow ’79, 300th Anniversary University Professor at Harvard and former dean of Harvard Law School, commended Rodríguez’s scholarship, teaching, and ability to lead and engage with colleagues holding different viewpoints.
“Cristina Rodríguez combines the best traditions of public service, intellectual curiosity, and scholarly accomplishment as well as passion for welcoming and guiding students in exploring tough issues with rigor and open-mindedness,” Minow said. “Exemplified by her superb guidance as co-chair of the Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States, Cristina’s own clarity and leadership abilities manifest wisdom, interest in diverse views, and commitment to bridge theory and practice. As a Yale Law School alum and a former dean, I am grateful to Cristina for taking on this vital role and will watch with eagerness her leadership of YLS and its ongoing global impact on education and on the rule of law.”
A native of San Antonio, Texas, Rodríguez earned her B.A. in history from Yale College in 1995. She attended Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar, where she received a master of letters in modern history in 1998. She earned her J.D. from Yale Law School in 2000. During law school, Rodríguez was an Articles Editor of the Yale Law Journal and received the Benjamin Scharps Prize for the best paper by a third-year student and the Carolyn E. Agger Award for Women in Law.
Former Law School Dean Guido Calabresi ’58, Sterling Professor Emeritus of Law, said, “The appointment of Cristina Rodríguez as our new dean brings me joy. Cristina will be a great dean. She is a first-rate scholar and teacher in the long tradition of Yale Law School deans. She has also proven her courage and administrative ability in the many initiatives she has participated in and led, both locally and nationally. Most of all, she combines excellence with humanity and love.”
Following her graduation from law school, Rodríguez clerked for Judge David S. Tatel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and Justice Sandra Day O’Connor of the U.S. Supreme Court. She was on the faculty at the New York University School of Law from 2004 to 2012 and has been a visiting professor at Stanford, Harvard, and Columbia law schools, helping to shape the next generation of lawyers and scholars at those institutions.
In her message, President McInnis thanked members of the search committee for their service to the School. Professors Douglas Kysar and Tracey Meares co-chaired the committee, which included faculty members Jack Balkin, Miriam Gohara, Jonathan Macey ’82, Natasha Sarin, and Gideon Yaffe.
“Cristina Rodríguez is a highly regarded and influential scholar, who possesses exceptional intellect, leadership acumen, and sound judgment,” committee co-chairs Kysar and Meares said in a statement. “As a widely respected colleague across the legal profession and legal education, who is open-minded and committed to broad-ranging inquiry, we believe she is exceptionally well qualified to lead Yale Law School forward at this important moment.”
