Former U.S. Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights to Join Nation’s Leading Public Law School for Social Justice
New York, NY — CUNY School of Law proudly names Kristen Clarke, former Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Justice (2021–2025), the 2025 W. Haywood Burns Chair in Human and Civil Rights.
In a moment of mounting legal, civil, and human rights challenges, the Burns Chair reflects CUNY Law’s commitment to training the next generation of lawyers for social justice in community with legal thinkers and advocates shaping how the law can be used in service of human needs.
Clarke will join the Law School for a year-long period centered on public dialogues, mentorship, student-centered collaboration, and independent study intended to enhance the traditional classroom experience. The Burns Chair honors the vision of W. Haywood Burns, a civil rights lawyer, professor, and CUNY Law’s second dean, who advanced a model of legal education focused on preparing lawyers to serve people, not power. As the first Black dean of a law school in New York State, he encouraged lawyers to focus on advancing the public good.
The Burns Chair brings that vision to life each year by supporting the work of a nationally recognized legal thinker and advocate who engages with CUNY Law’s mission, curriculum, and community.
Kristen Clarke brings to the role unmatched experience. Recently appointed the Earl C. and Anna H. Broady Chair at Howard University School of Law, her career in civil rights and social justice work includes her tenure as head of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, where she led the prosecution of defendants tied to the tragic murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and Tyre Nichols; expanded enforcement of federal hate crimes laws; confronted modern day redlining by banks; addressed police misconduct; and brought renewed focus on voting rights, disability rights, and equal educational opportunity. She previously served as President and Executive Director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, and has held leadership roles at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and the New York State Attorney General’s Office.
“The Burns Chair honors luminaries, scholars, and advocates whose work shapes the law’s role in advancing social justice,” said Interim Dean Natalie Gomez-Velez. “Kristen Clarke’s record of leadership and impact offers our students an extraordinary example of how legal expertise, vision, and courage can transform communities and strengthen democracy.”
“The challenges facing our democracy today demand a bold reimagining of what lawyers stand for and the role that the law should play as a tool to resist discrimination and injustice,” said Clarke. “I’m honored to help carry out W. Haywood Burns’ legacy by ensuring that a fierce commitment to equal justice under law remains a focal point for this generation of CUNY law students.”
A Brooklyn native and graduate of Harvard University and Columbia Law School, Clarke joins a growing list of distinguished legal figures to hold the W. Haywood Burns Chair at CUNY Law, dating back nearly thirty years and most recently including Professor James Forman Jr., Pulitzer Prize winner, J. Skelly Wright Professor of Law at Yale Law School and Faculty Director of the Yale Law and Racial Justice Center (2024), and Vince Warren, Executive Director of the Center for Constitutional Rights (2023).
“Kristen Clarke’s extraordinary career, from leading the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division to her decades of groundbreaking advocacy with the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, and the New York State Attorney General’s Office, has strengthened the fight for justice nationwide,” said Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright ’92. “Her record-setting enforcement of civil rights laws, commitment to victims and survivors, and unwavering dedication to equality make her an inspiring choice as CUNY Law’s 2025 Burns Chair. I am proud to celebrate her appointment and the Law School’s continued leadership in shaping the next generation of advocates.”
CUNY Law is deeply grateful to the generous supporters of this year’s W. Haywood Burns Chair in Human and Civil Rights, including Assembly Member Rebecca A. Seawright ’92, Chair of the CUNY Law Foundation Board of Visitors, State Senator Jamaal T. Bailey ’12, Assembly Member Catalina Cruz ’09, Assembly Member Harvey Epstein ’94, State Senate Deputy Majority Leader Michael Gianaris, State Senator Kristen Gonzalez, and Assembly Member Steven Raga.
About CUNY School of Law
The City University of New York School of Law is the nation’s leading public interest law school with a dual mission: to recruit and train outstanding public interest lawyers and to diversify the legal profession so that it includes and reflects people and communities needed to transform justice.
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