On May 31, Judge Deanell Tacha will end her 25-year tenure on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, including seven years as its chief judge.

Tacha, 65, is embarking on a new career as dean of Pepperdine University School of Law in California, replacing another former appeals judge: Kenneth Starr, who left last year to become president of Baylor University.