Nebraska law school dean named UIC provost

Dr. Susan Poser, dean and professor of law at the University of Nebraska College of Law, has been named provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs at UIC. Her appointment becomes effective Feb. 1, pending approval by the University of Illinois Board of Trustees.

“Dr. Poser’s experience at a Carnegie 1 research institution and her understanding and passion for both student and faculty priorities will help us move UIC forward as a premier public urban research university,” said UIC Chancellor Michael Amiridis. Poser will serve as UIC’s chief academic and chief operating officer and as senior advisor to Amiridis on matters of academic policy, strategic direction, enrollment management and resource planning.

Dr. Susan Poser

A scholar in legal ethics and tort law, Poser joined the Nebraska faculty in 1999. She has been dean and Richard and Catherine Schmoker Professor of Law at Nebraska since 2010. Since 2005 she has served as director of the Robert J. Kutak Center for the Teaching & Study of Applied Ethics, a multidisciplinary resource for campus research and teaching about ethics and ethical decision-making. She was chief of staff and associate to the chancellor of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln from 2007 to 2010, working on a wide variety of campus issues and policies, including those related to academics, enrollment management, alumni relations, and fundraising.

“I am excited to be joining the UIC community.  The leadership of Chancellor Amiridis, the quality of the faculty, and the mission of UIC as an urban, public, land-grant research university are inspiring,” said Poser. “I look forward to working with the UIC community to serve the wonderful diversity of students at UIC, the city of Chicago, and the state of Illinois.”

Poser received her bachelor’s degree from Swarthmore College with honors in ancient Greek and political science. She earned her Ph.D. in jurisprudence and social policy and her law degree from the University of California, Berkeley. After law school, she clerked for Chief Judge Dolores K. Sloviter in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit and practiced law in Philadelphia before moving to Nebraska to begin her academic career.

Poser is a member of the board of directors of the Nebraska Humanities Council, and the Strategic Air & Space Museum in Omaha. She is active in national organizations for law schools and law deans, and is a past member of the ACLU National Board of Directors and an elected member of the American Law Institute.

At UIC she succeeds longtime UIC administrator Eric A. ‘Rick’ Gislason, who was appointed interim vice chancellor for academic affairs and provost in August 2014. Gislason, professor emeritus of chemistry, has been at UIC since 1969. His administrative appointments have included head of chemistry, interim dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, vice chancellor for research, and interim chancellor.

“I want to thank Rick for his steadfast dedication to the university,” said Amiridis. “Rick is one of UIC’s strongest advocates, and he is admired by many people on our campus.”