In a matter of weeks, Robert Post’s name will be etched into one of the lead-paned windows lining the ornate office that houses the dean of Yale Law School. Post is stepping down from the deanship on June 30 after eight years leading the nation’s top-ranked law school. Tradition holds that the name of each dean is inscribed on a window after they vacate the office. To hear Post tell it, when the sun is at a certain angle, his predecessors literally cast a shadow over him.
Post’s tenure at the storied New Haven law school has been characterized by relative stability and growth. The student body has not been roiled by the racial tension that rocked Harvard Law School last year, in part because Post embraced changes recommended by a 2015 committee on campus diversity and inclusion. As a result, the law school this year increased minority first-year enrollment and made more job offers to diverse faculty candidates.
