Dear Friends,

As you may have heard, the university announced my reappointment as Dean of the School of Law for a second five-year term. I am incredibly grateful for the privilege and joy of continuing to serve our beloved law school community. Working together, we have made immense strides—increasing our applications and enrollment, improving the credentials of our incoming classes, expanding scholarships, launching innovative programs, securing generous alumni funding for our centers and clinics, raising our employment outcomes and first-time California bar passage, and incarnating our Jesuit mission into all that we do. 

I am blessed to work with such an incredible group of educators—faculty, staff, and administrative leaders—whose commitment to our students, our mission, and our ethos of cura personalis, has made Santa Clara Law a transformative learning community. And I am truly thankful to be able to continue to accompany our extraordinary students in the creation of a hope-filled future.

Celebration of Dean Michael Kaufman reappointment

The impact of our great law school reaches far beyond the walls of Charney Hall. In a recent university-wide forum, Leading with our Jesuit Values in Challenging Times, Professor of Law Brad Joondeph, J.D. joined Vice President of Mission & Ministry Fr. Matt Carnes, S.J.; Director of Immigration Ethics for the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics Fr. Bill O’Neill, S.J.; and Assistant Professor of Religious Studies Elyse Raby, Ph.D. to reflect brilliantly upon the recent statements made by Pope Leo XIV and Catholic leaders, decrying the current threats to peace, justice, migration, and human rights.

Each of the speakers offered a poignant perspective, grounded in our responsibility to see, judge, and act in the face of what Shakespeare’s Sir Thomas More recognized in The Strangers’ Case as vile racism, “barbarous temper,” “hideous violence,” and “mountainish inhumanity.”

In his own powerful remarks, Professor Joondeph further reflected upon our collective calling to resist carefully and vigorously the percussive attacks on the truth, the rule of law, the constitutional order, democratic values, and the equal dignity of every human being. 
 
Our law school community is not only answering that urgent calling, we are also answering the call to address the myriad challenges and opportunities presented by the rapidly-changing technological landscape. We brought to our campus the top minds in intellectual property for the inaugural IP Conference, hosted by our Datta Center for High Tech Law (DCHTL). At the conference, we celebrated The Honorable William Alsup for his 26 years of service. An exemplar of judicial independence, adherence to the rule of law, and fairness, Judge Alsup shared how growing up in segregated Mississippi shaped his views on justice, which cases stand out to him amongst the ones he’s presided over for almost three decades, and what he’ll miss most about being in court.

Thank you to our DCHTL team who made this possible and the faculty, staff-educators, and students who participated in this impactful event. This conference is one of the many ways we are building meaningful connections with scholars, the bench, and the bar throughout the country and the world.

IP Conference 2026

In another example of the difference we’re making as a law school, I’m thrilled to share that one of our students, Jennifer Koepke Moller, was named a 2026 Law Student of the Year by the National Jurist. Jennifer was honored as a student who is “transforming passion into action — proving that the pursuit of justice starts long before the bar exam.” She serves as President of the Affirmed Law Student Association, a student organization for nontraditional and experienced law students, Editor-In-Chief of the Journal of International Law, and Notes Editor for the Santa Clara Law Review. She is also passionate about peer mentorship and launched a buddy program for her fellow nontraditional law students. 

Please join me in congratulating Jennifer on this well-deserved recognition. She exemplifies the conscience, compassion, competence, professionalism, and inclusive excellence of our entire law school community. 

With warm regards and tremendous gratitude,

 

Michael J. Kaufman
Dean and Professor of Law
Santa Clara University School of Law