Regents pick UCLA law school dean to lead UW-Madison

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The dean of UCLA's law school has been chosen as the next head of the University of Wisconsin's flagship campus in Madison, the university system's regents announced Monday.

Jennifer Mnookin was picked to succeed outgoing Chancellor Rebecca Blank, the regents said. Mnookin holds a law degree from Yale and has served as dean of the School of Law at UCLA since 2015. She also has served as a law professor at the University of Virginia.

Mnookin beat out four other finalists for the job, including UW-Madison Provost John Scholz; University of Pittsburgh provost and philosophy professor Ann Cudd; Marie Lynn Miranda, a Notre Dame statistics professor; and Daniel Reed, a University of Utah computer professor and former provost.

Mnookin said in news release put out by UW-Madison that she feels lawyers are uniquely positioned to be leaders.

“Lawyers have to listen carefully,” she said. “They have to think strategically. They are, fundamentally, trained as problem solvers and sometimes have to persuade people that don't necessarily see the world the way they do. They also have to be willing to engage across difference and think seriously about alternative points of view. I do think those are qualities that I will bring to this role as chancellor.”

Mnookin will start her job at UW-Madison on Aug. 4. She will make $750,000 annually, UW System spokesman Mark Pitsch said.

Blank made $618,278 annually. She is set to step down as chancellor on May 31 to take over as president at Northwestern University. The regents said Monday that Scholz will serve as chancellor before Mnookin arrives in August.

Mnookin's husband, Joshua Foa Dienstang, serves as a political science and law professor at UCLA. He will accompany his wife to Madison and plans to join the UW-Madison...