I began my academic career in 1987 at the University of Michigan Law School, teaching and doing research on taxation and America's response to poverty. I later received a joint appointment with the Gerald Ford School of Public Policy, and ultimately served for nine years as the Law School's dean.
During my deanship, the Law School made important innovations in public service, the teaching of professional skills, and transnational law, and it successfully completed a $92 million fundraising campaign. The Law School also successfully defended its use of affirmative action in admissions in a case which reached the Supreme Court, Grutter v. Bollinger. The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund recognized our efforts by awarding me the National Equal Justice Award.
