Cristina M. Rodríguez
Cristina M. Rodríguez | |
|---|---|
| 18th Dean of Yale Law School | |
| Assumed office February 1, 2026 | |
| President | Maurie D. McInnis |
| Preceded by | Yair Listokin (interim) |
| Co-Chair of the Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States | |
| In office April 9, 2021 – December 7, 2021 Serving with Robert Bauer | |
| President | Joe Biden |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Position abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | February 3, 1973 San Antonio, Texas, U.S. |
| Education | Yale University (BA, JD) St John's College, Oxford (MLitt) |
Cristina María Rodríguez (born February 3, 1973) is an American legal scholar who has been the 18th dean of Yale Law School since 2026. She is the first tenured Hispanic professor at Yale Law School.
Before joining the faculty at Yale, Rodríguez was the deputy assistant attorney general for the Office of Legal Counsel at the U.S. Department of Justice. In 2025, she was announced as the 18th dean of Yale Law School, a role she assumed on February 1, 2026.[1]
Early life and education
Rodríguez was born on February 3, 1973,[2] in San Antonio, Texas.[3] Rodríguez's father is from Cuba and her mother is from Puerto Rico.[4]
After high school, Rodríguez received a B.A. in history from Yale College. She then obtained an M.Litt. in modern history at the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar and received a J.D. from Yale Law School, where she was articles editor of the Yale Law Journal.[5] Upon graduating from Yale, Rodríguez became a Reginald F. Lewis Fellow at Harvard Law School during the 2001–02 academic year.[6]
Career
Before joining the faculty at New York University School of Law (NYU) in 2004, Rodríguez clerked for David S. Tatel of the U.S. Court of Appeals and Sandra Day O'Connor of the U.S. Supreme Court.[5] In 2008, Rodríguez joined the Council on Foreign Relations as a five-year term member[7] and later received tenure from NYU.[8]
From 2011 until 2013, Rodríguez was the Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel within the United States Department of Justice. In January 2013, Rodríguez left her position as the Deputy Assistant Attorney General to become Yale Law School's first tenured Latino faculty member.[9] The following year, she was named as the Leighton Homer Surbeck Professor of Law.[10]
During the COVID-19 pandemic in North America, Rodríguez was recognized by the American Academy of Arts & Sciences for her accomplishments.[11] She was also named as a member of Agency Review Teams during the presidential transition of Joe Biden.[12] On April 9, 2021, Rodríguez was named Co-Chair of the Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States.[13]
On May 26, 2022, it was reported that Rodríguez and colleague Justin Driver were possibly being vetted for a vacancy on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.[14][15]
Selected publications
- Negotiating Conflict through Federalism (2014)
- Immigration, Civil Rights, and the Evolution of the People (2013)
- Constraint through Delegation (2010)
- The President and Immigration Law (2009, 2020)
- The Significance of the Local in Immigration Regulation (2008)
See also
References
- ^ "Cristina Rodríguez Selected as Next Dean of Yale Law School". Yale Law School.
- ^ "Rodríguez, Cristina M., 1973-". id.loc.gov. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
- ^ "Cristina Rodriguez". lapietradialogues.org. Archived from the original on May 10, 2021. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
- ^ "Can a Latina law professor help reform the Supreme Court?". MSN.
- ^ a b "Introducing Cristina Rodríguez". law.nyu.edu. 2004. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
- ^ "Current and Former Lewis Fellows". hls.harvard.edu. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
- ^ "An Award-Winning Season". law.nyu.edu. 2008. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
- ^ "NYU Welcomes Three New Tenured Professors" (PDF). law.nyu.edu. The Commentator. January 21, 2009. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
- ^ Bass, Carole (January 10, 2013). "Cristina Rodriguez '95, '00JD: new face at—and of—the Law School". yalealumnimagazine.com. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
- ^ "Cristina Rodriguez appointed the Surbeck Professor of Law". news.yale.edu. December 15, 2014. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
- ^ "Cristina Rodríguez Elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences". law.yale.edu. April 24, 2020. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
- ^ "Garcia, Rodriguez, Williams Named to Agency Review Teams for Biden-Harris Transition". ctbythenumbers.news. November 12, 2020. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
- ^ "President Biden to Sign Executive Order Creating the Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States". April 9, 2021.
- ^ "Connecticut judge breezes through committee appearance on way to likely U.S. Appeals court confirmation". May 25, 2022.
- ^ @fedjudges (May 26, 2022). "I had assumed Judge Jesse Furman would get the nod, but it seems unlikely now. The article is likely describing Jus…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.