Rutgers Law School appoints first Black, LBGTQ+ dean
Rutgers—Camden has recently named Kimberly Mutcherson as co-dean of Rutgers Law School, making her the first Black and first LGBTQ law dean at Rutgers University.
According to The Philadelphia Tribune, Mutcherson will be working with David Lopez, the co-dean of Rutgers Law School in Newark. She succeeds Michael Cahill, who will serve as dean and president of Brooklyn Law School.
“I am thrilled to be able to continue my service to Rutgers law as co-dean,” Mutcherson said in a statement. “Working with David Lopez, I know that our institution has a very bright future and will continue to provide a high quality legal education and produce lawyers who change the profession and the world for the better.”
Mutcherson first joined Rutgers in 2002, working as an assistant professor. In 2005 she was promoted to associate professor, then became a professor in 2013. Most recently, she served as the vice dean of Rutgers Law School since 2015.
Some of the courses Mutcherson previously taught were Bioethics, Babies and Babymaking, Family Law, Southern African Constitutional Law and Torts. She was also the faculty adviser for the LGBTQ student organization OUTLaws and the Black Law Students Association. She is also the author of numerous articles, and has experience with research on issues related to reproductive justice, assisted production and abortion.
“Kim Mutcherson is a collaborative leader who is positioned to build upon the momentum and energy at Rutgers Law,” said Rutgers—Camden Chancellor Phoebe A. Haddon in a statement. “She is passionate about the value of a legal education that prepares creative thinkers who are ready to be leaders in virtually every aspect of our society. She sees with clarity the role of the law in protecting individual rights.”
Before Rutgers, Mutcherson worked as a consulting attorney with the Center for Reproductive Rights. She was also a fellow, then later staff attorney with the HIV Law Project. She received a bachelor's degree in history from the University of Pennsylvania and later her juris doctorate from Columbia Law School.
