Emily Suski named dean of the University of Arkansas School of Law

Emily Suski, associate dean for strategic and institutional priorities at the University of South Carolina Joseph F. Rice School of Law, will be the next dean of the University of Arkansas School of Law, the UA announced Friday (Jan. 9). The appointment is effective July 1.

She will succeed Dean Cynthia Nance, who will return to a full-time faculty position in the School of Law. Nance was appointed dean in November 2023 after serving as interim dean since July 1, 2022. Nance previously was the dean from 2006 to 2011.

“I’m pleased to name Emily Suski the new dean of the School of Law and welcome her to the University of Arkansas,” said Provost Indrajeet Chaubey. “She has extensive experience in leadership roles in legal education and practice and is an accomplished scholar. She has also been very successful in establishing medical-legal partnerships in South Carolina to support children’s health and overall well-being.”

Suski has been a faculty member at the University of South Carolina School of Law since 2016. She was associate dean for clinics and externships from 2022 to 2025 before becoming associate dean for strategic and institutional priorities. She’s the founding faculty director of Carolina Health Advocacy Medicolegal Partnership and affiliate assistant professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the Medical University of South Carolina.

Before joining the University of South Carolina, she was a faculty member at Georgia State University College of Law, Morehouse School of Medicine, and the University of Virginia School of Law. She was also a staff attorney for the JustChildren Program of the Legal Aid Justice Center in Charlottesville, Va.

“I am deeply grateful for the trust and confidence that Provost Chaubey has placed in me, and I am delighted to join the University of Arkansas,” Suski said. “I look forward to working with the faculty, staff and students at the School of Law to continue and expand on the excellent work they are already doing. I am also grateful to Dean Nance for all the work she has done in her time leading the School of Law and look forward to working with her on a smooth transition in leadership. I could not be more thrilled to be joining such a dynamic, engaged law school and university community.”

Suski has taught education, health and poverty law, and clinical legal education. She’s studied education law and civil rights. Her work has been published in several journals, including the “Stanford Law Review,” “Emory Law Journal,” “Iowa Law Review,” “Minnesota Law Review,” “California Law Review,” “UCLA Law Review” and “Clinical Law Review.”

Suski earned a master of laws with honors from Georgetown University Law Center. She received a Juris Doctor, a master’s degree in social work, and a bachelor’s degree with distinction from the University of North Carolina.

“I want to express my sincere gratitude to Dean Nance for her service to the School of Law for more than 30 years as both a faculty member and a dean,” Chaubey said. “The University of Arkansas is indebted to Dean Nance for her significant contributions to our institution and the legal community, and the School of Law’s tremendous success is due, in large part, to her extraordinary leadership.”