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DAILY BRUIN SENIOR STAFF
rsalonga@media.ucla.edu
The dean's office at the UCLA School of Law will now be occupied for the time being, as Norman Abrams was appointed this past week to serve in the interim by Chancellor Albert Carnesale.
Abrams's appointment keeps the deanship within the university – he has been on the law school faculty since 1959 and served a 10-year stint as vice chancellor of academic personnel for most of the 1990s.
On Aug. 16, Abrams will take over for Jonathan Varat, who stepped down from the post in June after a review of his tenure in which he wrote that some "appear to prefer a change in the course of my administration." Varat, who served as dean for five years, will return to full-time teaching and writing at the law school.
"It's an exciting challenge," Abrams said about his appointment. "I'm excited by the possibility of leading it even for a short time."
In his letter announcing the appointment, Carnesale said a nationwide search will "commence in the near future."
Many at the law school feel confident in the chancellor's appointment of Abrams.
"He's incredibly respected by the law school faculty as well as the campus community, and American legal academia," said David Sklansky, a professor of law and associate dean.
Sklansky added that Abrams' familiarity with the school will serve as an immediate asset in the transition from Varat.
"He has a good grasp of the job of the faculty he's going to be presiding over," Sklansky said. "He understands ... the mission of the law school, and he's an active teacher."
Law Professor Stephen Yeazell, who has known Abrams for 28 years, said Abrams' "broad knowledge of the university" will also smoothen his transition into the deanship.
Though he said it was too early to set goals for his tenure as interim dean, Abrams said he wants to build on existing projects Varat initiated.
"This is a great law school with momentum and I want to ... maintain it and go from there," he said.
Abrams steps into the position with a wealth of experience in administration and an expansive background in the field of the law.
He received his law degree from the University of Chicago in 1955, and before coming to UCLA, served at Columbia Law School and Harvard Law School.
During his 44-year UCLA teaching career specializing in criminal procedure, evidence and federal criminal law, he served from 1966-1967 as a special assistant to the U.S. Attorney General in the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice. He also served as associate dean of the law school from 1989-1991.
