After a nationwide search that started last October, the UCLA
School of Law found its next leader in Michael Schill, a faculty
member of New York University.
When Schill arrives at UCLA in August, he will be a familiar
face to some, as a number years ago he was considered for a
position as a professor.
Carole Goldberg, a professor at the law school, met Schill
during that time and said she remembers him distinctly as the one
candidate that got away.
Though at the time Schill did not choose UCLA, he did feel a
spark.
“I knew there was something special about the school back
in ’87. “¦ Seventeen years later I feel the same
way,” Schill said.
Far from Los Angeles, the 45-year-old, was born and raised in
Schenectady, N.Y.
He received his bachelor’s degree from Princeton
University and went on to get his law degree from Yale Law School
in 1984.
Schill started working in the field as a law clerk to U.S.
District Court Judge Marvin Katz and then worked as an associate at
a law firm.
It was in 1987 when Schill joined the academic world as an
assistant law professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law
School.
“I was always interested in the academic life,”
Schill said, adding that when he was in practice he got the chance
to teach a class at Yale University.
“It just fit me like a glove. “¦ It felt natural
teaching,” he added, talking about the experience of
informing individuals about subjects in which they are
interested.
At NYU, Schill has been the director of the Furman Center for
Real Estate and Urban Policy and is also a professor of law and
urban planning.
About the move and change in scenery between New York and Los
Angeles, Schill said he is excited because as an urbanist he has
studied both cities closely.
He added that the two cities are similar when it comes to the
social issues that people are dealing with.
He also stated another similarity between the two cities when it
comes to the practice of law.
“These are two cities where lawyers are at top of their
game,” Schill said.
Along with the positives of coming to UCLA, the job comes with a
number of challenges, and Schill is well aware of that.
“I wouldn’t want to come to a school when there are
no challenges,” he said. “I wouldn’t feel
needed.”
One of the prominent issues faced by the law school is dealing
with increased fees and budget cuts.
Schill said the law school currently does not have sufficient
financial aid and loan forgiveness programs in place.
He added that it is important for law schools to provide
education to people from all walks of life, as law schools are
training the leaders of tomorrow.
Monetary issues are important to everyone. Goldberg said its
important for the new dean to be able to provide financial support
in this era of reduced state funding.
Goldberg believes that Schill will be able to steer the law
school in the right direction and added that he will have the
support of the faculty.
“We welcome him not only as a dean but as a contributing
member of faculty,” she said.
Schill was picked from a pool of nearly 125 candidates narrowed
down to four finalists.
Schill said when he was approached by UCLA about the job he was
not necessarily considering a dean position.
“There are a lot of American law schools that I would not
consider, but UCLA was very appealing to me,” he added.
Schill described UCLA as a very dynamic place and a school that
is not tied to the past.
“It’s a school that is not afraid to be innovative
and is not being bogged down by tradition,” he added.
New ideas were also important to UCLA, explained Barbara Herman,
the chairwoman of the search committee, adding that a quality that
stood out about Schill was his creative ideas, alongside his
distinguished academic reputation.
“He fit very well with the intellectual atmosphere of UCLA
Law School,” Herman said.
She added that they were looking for someone with fresh ideas
who was not only an administrator but also an intellectual.
Apart from all his accomplishments, Schill believes he is
receiving good practice for being the dean of a law school as the
president of the cooperative housing building he lives in.
“If I can successfully manage 300 very demanding people,
half of whom want an elevator operator and the other half
don’t, I can manage a law school,” he said
jokingly.
Schill added on a more serious tone that he still has a lot of
learning to do and that there is no way to get around that.
“There is no way to hit the ground running,” he
said.