- Merritt McAlister was named permanent dean of the University of Florida Levin College of Law, effective immediately, after serving as interim dean since June 2023.
- McAlister enrolled the most credentialed first-year class in UF law history and maintained over 90% first-time Florida Bar Exam pass rates for 3 years.
- She previously worked eight years at King & Spalding, clerked for Supreme Court Justice Stevens, and has published in top law reviews.
After a nationwide search, Merritt McAlister has been appointed permanent dean of the University of Florida Levin College of Law, effective immediately.
UF President Stuart Bell announced McAlister’s appointment in an administrative memo sent to students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends on Friday.
“The Levin College of Law, Florida’s premier law school, is nationally recognized for excellence in legal education, influential scholarship, and public service,” Bell said in the memo. “The dean’s leadership is critical to continuing to enhance the college’s stature and extend its influence and impact. I am confident that Dean McAlister is the right leader for that role.”
McAlister, who is also the Levin, Mabie & Levin Professor of Law, joined the UF law faculty in 2018, according to the memo. She has served as interim dean of the Levin College of Law since June 2023, after then-Dean Laura Rosenbury was selected as Barnard College’s next president.
As dean of the Levin College of Law, Bell said McAlister “will build upon and expand her record of accomplishment” in the interim position, including:
- Enrolling in the most credentialed first-year class in the history of UF law, with a median Law School Admission Test (LSAT) score of 170 and a median undergraduate GPA of 3.97.
- Building an academic success program that resulted in over 90% of first-time test takers passing the Florida Bar Exam for three consecutive years – the only law school in Florida to do so in more than 15 years.
- Recruiting leading and innovative faculty, including launching an AI Laboratory, landing two former Supreme Court clerks and the top-cited administrative law scholar in the nation.
Prior to joining UF, McAlister spent eight years in private practice with King & Spalding, where she became a partner in the firm’s national appellate practice, according to the memo. McAlister also clerked for Justice John Paul Stevens on the U.S. Supreme Court and for Judge R. Lanier Anderson III on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
McAlister also teaches and writes in the areas of court administration, constitutional law, federal courts and judicial decision-making, according to the memo. Her scholarship centers around issues of institutional design in the federal appellate courts.
According to the memo, McAlister’s work has been published in the University of Pennsylvania Law Review, the Michigan Law Review and the Northwestern Law Review, among others.
McAlister earned her Juris Doctor summa cum laude from the University of Georgia Law School, where she graduated first in her class and served as executive articles editor of the Georgia Law Review, according to the memo. She received her Bachelor of Arts magna cum laude from Rice University.
The appointment of McAlister comes as UF continues to fill several permanent dean and top leadership roles across campus. Most recently, Dr. Chris Adin was named the next dean of the UF College of Veterinary Medicine, while Dr. Brian Hoh was selected as the new dean of the UF College of Medicine.
Other permanent dean selections/appointments include Dr. Mark Tehranipoor for the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering and Kevin Robert Orr for the College of the Arts. Searches remain active for deans of the College of Public Health and Health Professions, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and UF Libraries.
In July, UF also announced the search committee that would lead the national search for the university’s next provost. Dr. Joe Glover currently serves as UF’s interim provost and executive vice president for academic affairs.
Nick Anschultz is a Report for America corps member and writes about education for Mainstreet Daily News. This position is supported by local donations through the Community Catalyst for Local Journalism Fund at the Community Foundation of North Central Florida.