The Chronicle

Issue date: 4/22/08 Section: News
Last update: 4/22/08 at 6:53 AM EST

Media Credit: Max Masnick After four years at Duke, renowned constitutional law expert Erwin Chemerinsky, professor of law and political science, will depart to become the founding dean of the Donald Bren School of Law at UC-Irvine.

Described as "a giant," "incredibly witty" and "one of the nicest people ever" by students, faculty and administrators, one School of Law professor will be missed next year by many members of the Duke community.

Erwin Chemerinsky, Alston & Bird professor of law and professor of political science, will leave Duke after this semester to become the founding dean of the Donald Bren School of Law at the University of California-Irvine.

"We just got out of our last class and he received a standing ovation at the end," said Kathy Choi, a junior in his political science class.

The constitutional law and civil procedure expert came to Duke in 2004, after 21 years at the University of Southern California Law School. Chemerinsky has also been involved as an attorney in high-profile cases, including representing Valerie Plame Wilson, the CIA agent whose identity was leaked to the press in 2003.

Reflecting on his time at the University, Chemerinsky said his most memorable experience is teaching a class this semester that his son, a second-year student in the School of Law, is currently taking.

"It's a large class, and it's been so wonderful to-four times a week-look up and see him in the room," he said.

He added that other unforgettable experiences at Duke include receiving the University Scholar/Teacher of the Year Award in 2006 and sitting in the first row behind the basket in the Duke-Maryland men's basketball game in February.

But Chemerinsky said he will miss most the brilliant minds he has taught over the past four years.

"It's a really special place, and the students are really dazzling," he said. "The quality of the discussion in my undergraduate classes is just incredible."

The one lesson he said he hopes to impart to students before he leaves for California is to find a career they are passionate about.

"It's really about enjoying the journey and finding ways of enjoying all the stages of life. To me, the saddest thing is when I hear a student say, 'Well I am unhappy now, but when I get past this, then I will do something that will make me happy,'" he said. "Life is too unpredictable and you don't know what's going to come next. I think it's so important at each stage to enjoy the process, really find a way of enjoying college to make it the best experience and look for a career that makes you excited and happy all along the way. I feel lucky that I found that. I love it just as much as I started in 1980, and I wish the same for my children and my students."

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