The Law School Admission Council (LSAC) has named Sudha Setty as its president and chief executive officer, effective July 1, 2025. Setty is currently serving as dean of the City University of New York School of Law. Previously, she served as dean of Western New England University School of Law.
Setty said she has been deeply impressed with LSAC’s mission and work in championing access, equity and outcomes in legal education that advance law and justice, "Law schools and higher education in general face enormous challenges and opportunities, from the role of the academy in society, to how to preserve the rule of law, to how to advance diversity, access and excellence in legal education. These profound issues require all of us to work together towards building a well-equipped, diverse and engaged legal profession.”
She added that LSAC plays a vital role in expanding outreach and access to legal education, and its work is more important than ever.
The LSAC CEO search committee was chaired by Marcilynn Burke, dean of Tulane University Law School, and Rebecca Scheller, chief administrative officer and associate dean of admission at the University of Wisconsin Law School, and included leaders in a variety of legal education and professional roles. The committee conducted a comprehensive national search that was announced last May.
“Sudha’s accomplishments and skill set as a dean and faculty member fit well with the aspirations of LSAC in its next chapter,” Burke said. “Sudha has a compelling vision for LSAC and will inspire us all to even greater achievements,” Scheller added.
In both of her deanships, Setty has focused on building structures to support social justice and public interest lawyering, and to increase the access to legal education.
While at CUNY Law, she spearheaded a significant expansion of Pipeline to Justice, the law school’s signature access program, and led the founding of the First Impressions Youth Legal Collaborative, a multifaceted program to engage middle school, high school and college students in engaging with questions of civics, law and justice.
“As the first South Asian-American woman to serve as dean of an ABA-accredited law school, I am particularly attuned to the fact that we must collectively do more to support those who have been historically excluded from leadership roles,” Setty said.
Setty is a nationally recognized scholar in national security and comparative civil rights law and is an elected member of the American Law Institute. She received her J.D. from Columbia University, where she was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar, and began her legal career at the firm Davis Polk & Wardwell. She recently served on the Deans Steering Committee of the Association of American Law Schools, on the editorial board of the Journal of National Security Law and Policy and on the New York State Bar Association Task Force on Artificial Intelligence. Setty will be replacing former president and CEO Kellye Testy, who left LSAC this past July to become executive director and CEO of the Association of American Law Schools. Susan Krinsky will continue to serve as LSAC’s interim president and CEO until July 1, 2025.