The University of Arkansas announced Wednesday that it had revoked its offer to Emily Suski to become dean of its School of Law.
Suski is the associate dean of strategic and institutional priorities at the University of South Carolina Joseph F. Rice School of Law. She had been set to assume the UA role on July 1, succeeding Cynthia Nance, who plans to return to a full-time faculty position.
“After a rigorous review process, I was honored to be selected to lead the University of Arkansas School of Law and was preparing to serve the students, faculty, and the state of Arkansas with integrity and commitment,” Suski said in a statement to Arkansas Business. “I am disappointed and hurt by the University’s decision to rescind my contract.
“I have been informed that the decision was not in any way a reflection of my qualifications to serve as dean, but rather the result of influence from external individuals,” Suski continued in the statement.
In a statement, UA said it decided to go in a different direction after receiving feedback from “key external stakeholders” about how Suski would fit in the position.
“University officials are very grateful for Professor Suski’s interest in the position and continue to hold Professor Suski in high regard,” the statement said. “We wish Professor Suski well as she moves forward with her career.”
Arkansas Business reached out to Suski for comment Thursday morning.
Suski’s involvement in a lawsuit challenging laws regarding transgender athletes in sports played a role in the offer being rescinded, state Rep. Nicole Clowney, D-Fayetteville, said on social media. Suski signed a friend of the court brief in the lawsuit, which caught the attention of “a few state legislators along with at least one constitutional officer,” Clowney wrote.
“There is nothing about signing onto this brief that would impact Prof. Suski’s ability to serve as Dean … But Arkansas officials weren’t concerned about Prof. Suski’s ability to carry out the functions of the Dean. Instead, the signature alerted Arkansas elected officials that Prof. Suski may share different political views than they do on this one issue,” Clowney wrote.
Clowney wrote that state elected officials threatened to withhold funding to the law school over Suski’s hiring. She did not name the officials.
Suski has been a faculty member at the University of South Carolina since 2016. She is the founding faculty director of the Carolina Health Advocacy Medicolegal Partnership and has also served as the associate dean for clinics and externships at the University of South Carolina.
She was announced as the next UA School of Law dean Jan. 9. In a news release issued that day, she said she looked forward to working with a “dynamic, engaged law school and university community.”
Suski’s teaching and areas of expertise include education, health and poverty law, and clinical legal education. Her focus is the intersection of education law and civil rights.
She holds a master’s in law with honors from the Georgetown University Law Center. She also holds a Juris Doctor, a master’s in social work and a bachelor’s with distinction from the University of North Carolina.
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