Merritt McAlister named UF College of Law dean

Merritt McAlister has been appointed dean of the University of Florida Levin College of Law following a nationwide search.

McAlister, who has served as interim dean since June 2023, joined the UF law faculty in 2018 and is the Levin, Mabie & Levin Professor of Law. Her appointment is effective immediately.

"The dean’s leadership is critical to continuing to enhance the college’s stature and extend its influence and impact," UF President Stuart R. Bell said in announcing the appointment. "I am confident that Dean McAlister is the right leader for that role."

Before joining UF, McAlister spent eight years with King & Spalding, where she became a partner in the firm’s national appellate practice. She clerked for Judge R. Lanier Anderson III of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit and U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens.

McAlister teaches and writes in the areas of federal courts, judicial decision-making, constitutional law, and court administration. Her scholarship focuses on institutional design in the federal appellate courts and has appeared in several leading law reviews.

During her tenure as interim dean, McAlister oversaw the enrollment of what UF Law described as its most credentialed entering class, with a median LSAT score of 170 and median undergraduate GPA of 3.97. The law school also developed an academic success program that resulted in more than 90% of first-time test takers passing the Florida bar exam for three consecutive years, according to UF.

McAlister earned her J.D., summa cum laude, from the University of Georgia School of Law, where she graduated first in her class, and her B.A., magna cum laude, from Rice University.

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