The former president of the University of Pennsylvania (Penn), who resigned Dec. 9, 2023, after a contentious congressional hearing, was named dean of the Georgetown University Law Center, the university announced Feb. 13.
Liz Magill, a legal scholar with years of university administrative experience, will begin her term at Georgetown Law Aug. 1, nearly three years after she resigned from Penn following a U.S. House of Representatives hearing on antisemitism. Magill will replace interim Dean Joshua Teitelbaum, who assumed the role after former Dean William Treanor stepped down in June 2025.
Interim University President Robert M. Groves said Magill will lead Georgetown Law through a difficult period for higher education.
“Throughout our extensive search process, Professor Magill demonstrated a deep understanding of both the challenges facing legal higher education and the distinctive opportunities for Georgetown Law: with our identity as a Catholic and Jesuit institution, with the development of our Capitol Campus, and with Georgetown’s Law tradition of excellence, as one of the oldest and largest law schools in the country,” Groves wrote in an email to community members.
Before her tenure at Penn, Magill was the first female provost of the University of Virginia and previously served as the dean of Stanford Law School for seven years.
In December 2023, Magill resigned from Penn after facing bipartisan criticism for her answer to the question of whether “calling for the genocide of Jews” would violate the university’s code of conduct during a heated congressional hearing. The former president of Harvard University, Claudia Gay, also resigned due to similar pressure.
Magill said she is excited to be dean of Georgetown Law and will uphold the university’s Jesuit values.
“Georgetown Law stands out as a community committed to bringing together people of different faiths, cultures, backgrounds and perspectives — a commitment that I’m deeply invested in upholding,” Magill said in the press release. “Georgetown’s Jesuit values — care for the whole person, justice and service — will be my North Star.”
In March 2025, then-dean Treanor received a letter from the interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia instructing him to cease diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs. Treanor publicly rejected the letter, saying DEI programs were essential to the university’s Jesuit mission.
Magill said she is committed to centering justice in the Law Center’s future.
“I’ve long admired Georgetown Law’s motto: ‘Law is but the means; justice is the end,’” Magill said. “That sense of purpose is woven into the life of the school — a clear expression of Jesuit values. I have great aspirations for the Law School’s future; this is the time to build on excellence and become an even stronger school.”
Groves said Magill will center Georgetown’s values in her leadership of the Law Center.
“Liz is the right person to lead Georgetown Law,” Groves said. “She is a distinguished legal scholar and an accomplished administrator who brings a values-driven vision to Georgetown Law. We are excited to see her take the helm and join our vibrant community.”
