The Next Dean of the School of Law at George Washington University

Dayna Bowen Matthew, a lawyer and legal scholar with three decades of industry and academic experience and a nationally recognized expert in health equity and public health policy, has been named the next dean of the School of Law at George Washington University. When she takes office on July 1, she will be the first woman to lead the law school.

“I am honored to join the rich history and tradition of this great law school, the oldest in the nation’s capital,” said Dr. Matthew. “Since its founding in 1865, at the close of the Civil War and at the start of Reconstruction, GW Law has been uniquely positioned to train leaders committed to bridging the country’s great divides. Together, with its renowned faculty, dynamic students, influential alumni and dedicated staff, I look to provide a preeminent space for civil discourse, constructive collaborations and innovative thinking that will advance society’s progress toward addressing the most difficult problems through law.”

Dr. Matthew is currently the William L. Matheson and Robert M. Morgenthau Distinguished Professor of Law and the F. Palmer Weber Research Professor of Civil Liberties and Human Rights at the University of Virginia Law School. She is also a professor of public health sciences at the university’s School of Medicine. Earlier in her career, Professor Matthew was professor of law, vice dean and associate dean of academic affairs at the University of Colorado Law School. She is the author of Just Medicine: A Cure for Racial Inequality in American Health Care (New York University Press, 2015).

Dr. Matthew received a bachelor’s degree in economics from Harvard University. She holds a juris doctorate from the University of Virginia and a Ph.D. in health and behavioral sciences from the University of Colorado Denver.