Setty was the dean of Western New England University School of Law for the past four years

FREMONT, CA: Indian American scholar and legal educator Sudha Setty was recently appointed as the dean of the City University of New York (CUNY) School of Law, the USA’s leading public interest law school. She is the first person of South Asian descent to head NYC’s only publicly funded law school. Prior to this, Setty was the dean of Western New England University School of Law for the past four years. She became the first woman of South Asian descent to serve as the dean of American Bar Association-accredited law school.

In the press release by CUNY, Chairperson William C. Thompson Jr. said that Setty’s impressive records of accomplishments as an antitrust litigator, pro bono civil rights counsel, and legal educator make her the perfect candidate for the job. Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez said that Dean Setty would bring a demonstrated ability to combine visionary goal-setting with stringent governance. Her longstanding experience will help CUNY progress beyond expectations. In the press conference, Setty said that she is looking forward to working with all the members of CUNY and making the world a better and fairer place.

About Sudha Setty

At the Western New England University School of Law, Setty focused on enhancing social justice, racial justice, and DE&I. She led the creation of the Center for Social Justice in 2019, which provides an organizing framework for the students and faculty to work in social justice lawyering, including LGBTQ+ rights, immigrant rights, engaging in economic justice, racial justice, access to justice, and other works.

Sudha Setty had also expanded the racial justice-oriented programs and student supports and led the school in adopting a graduation requirement for racial justice framework. Last year, Setty co-hosted the Workshop for Asian-American Women in Legal Academia, engaging over a hundred professionals in building the community.