Johanna Bond, an accomplished academic leader and legal scholar, will be the new dean of Rutgers Law School beginning on July 3, 2023.
Bond will join Rutgers after serving as the Sydney and Frances Lewis Professor of Law, an endowed chair in the School of Law at Washington and Lee University, where she previously was associate dean for academic affairs. She also serves as an affiliate faculty member in the university’s Africana Studies and the Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies programs.
“An accomplished legal scholar and a strong academic administrator, Professor Johanna Bond is uniquely qualified to serve as the dean of Rutgers University Law School,” said Antonio Tillis, chancellor of Rutgers University-Camden. “Professor Bond brings an intellectual trajectory that complements the scholarly focus of the law faculty in Camden. As an academic administrator, she has a proven track record with leading a diverse faculty, financial management, pedagogical innovation, fundraising and alumni development. Further, her commitment to a student-centric approach to legal education and focus on civically engaged and experiential learning aligns well with the values of Rutgers-Camden. I look forward to welcoming Professor Bond to campus.”
As a tenured professor, Bond’s scholarship focuses on women’s rights in sub-Saharan Africa, women’s rights within the United Nations and the application of critical race feminism in the context of human rights. Her most recent book with Oxford University Press, Global Intersectionality and Contemporary Human Rights, is the culmination of more than two decades of scholarship related to intersectionality in global human rights. She is a recipient of the Lewis Prize for Excellence in Legal Scholarship, the Ethan Allen Faculty Award for Scholarship and was twice named a Fulbright Scholar.
“Johanna Bond’s scholarly and administrative experience fit perfectly with the culture and ethos of Rutgers-Newark and our law school,” said Nancy Cantor, chancellor of Rutgers University-Newark. “Her scholarly expertise positions Bond to support the importance of the publicly engaged legal and interdisciplinary scholarship of our faculty, and her commitment to experiential learning in legal education complements our longstanding focus on public service for our students, faculty and professional staff.”
“Bond clearly appreciates the prominence of social justice in the history of our law school and in the ongoing centering of inclusive education, practice, scholarship and engagement as an anchor institution in and of the City of Newark, and its resonance well beyond our borders,” Cantor added. “We look forward to her leadership as we move collectively to promote the public good, and to train the next diverse generation of changemakers.”
Bond is a visionary and inclusive academic leader who will build on the existing strengths of Rutgers Law School and its two campus locations, while working with the faculty, staff, students and alumni to further elevate the reputation of the law school across the country, said Prabhas Moghe, executive vice president for academic affairs.
“In Johanna Bond, we have identified an academic leader who is committed to working with the entire Rutgers Law School community to elevate the school to national prominence as well as amplify the aspirations of the two locations in Camden and Newark,” Moghe said. “She is a dynamic leader whose skills and energy will focus her work with faculty, staff, students and alumni to chart the law school’s path forward.”
At Washington and Lee, Bond also chaired the Subcommittee on Diversity and Inclusion on the President’s Strategic Planning Steering Committee, served on presidential and provost search committees and restructured the first-year curriculum and designed a new first-year legal writing program.
Bond will work with the entire Rutgers Law School community to elevate the school to national prominence following the Board of Governors approval of her appointment.
“I am thrilled to lead Rutgers Law School, an extraordinary institution with an outstanding faculty and a long history of justice-oriented community engagement,” Bond said. “Rutgers Law has a deep commitment to access, diversity and inclusion, public service and excellence, and I am honored to join the Rutgers Law community as its next dean.”
