Christopher Fairfield Edley Jr. (January 13, 1953 – May 10, 2024) was an American lawyer and the Dean of the

University of California, Berkeley School of Law The University of California, Berkeley School of Law (Berkeley Law) is the law school of the University of California, Berkeley. The school was commonly referred to as "Boalt Hall" for many years, although it was never the official name. This cam ...

from 2004 to 2013. He served as President of The Opportunity Institute, an organization he co-founded with Ann O'Leary in 2016.

Early life

Edley was born on January 13, 1953, to Christopher F. Edley Sr., President of the United Negro College Fund, and Zaida Coles Edley, an actress and speech therapist. He was raised in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, and

New Rochelle, New York New Rochelle ( ; in ) is a Political subdivisions of New York State#City, city in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County, New York (state), New York, United States. It is a suburb of New York City, located approximately from Midtow ...

Career

Edley was a leading figure in Democratic policy circles for four decades, serving as a senior member of five presidential campaigns, as an economic policy and budget official under Presidents

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

and

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

, and as a chair of the Obama-Biden transition team. In 2011, he was appointed by U.S. Secretary of Education

Arne Duncan Arne Starkey Duncan (born November 6, 1964) is an American educator and former professional basketball player who served as the 9th United States secretary of education from 2009 to 2015 and as Chief Executive Officer of Chicago Public Schools ...

as co-chair of the congressionally chartered National Commission on Equity and Excellence in Education. Edley completed his undergraduate studies in mathematics at

Swarthmore College Swarthmore College ( , ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1864, with its first classes held in 1869, Swarthmore is one of the e ...

, later serving on its Board of Managers, a position which his father had also held. Edley next attended

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

, becoming a professor of

Administrative Law Administrative law is a division of law governing the activities of government agency, executive branch agencies of government. Administrative law includes executive branch rulemaking (executive branch rules are generally referred to as "regul ...

. Working with Gary Orfield, Edley founded the Harvard Civil Rights Project. Edley served as an advisor to President Clinton's One America Initiative, was a member of the

United States Commission on Civil Rights The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (CCR) is a bipartisan, independent commission of the United States federal government, created by the Civil Rights Act of 1957 during the Eisenhower administration, that is charged with the responsibility f ...

, and chaired President Clinton's 1998 Affirmative Action Review. In the 2008 presidential election, he supported and advised candidate

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

, one of his former students at Harvard Law School. Having served since 2004, Edley resigned as Dean of the

UC Berkeley School of Law The University of California, Berkeley School of Law (Berkeley Law) is the Law school in the United States, law school of the University of California, Berkeley. The school was commonly referred to as "Boalt Hall" for many years, although it was ...

at the end of 2013 to undergo treatment for

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is the neoplasm, uncontrolled growth of cells in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system below the bladder. Abnormal growth of the prostate tissue is usually detected through Screening (medicine), screening tests, ...

. In 2016, he returned to teaching law at Berkeley and served as interim dean of the UC Berkeley School of Education between 2021 and 2023. According to legal journalist Emily Bazelon, Edley "has written thoughtfully and moderately about

affirmative action Affirmative action (also sometimes called reservations, alternative access, positive discrimination or positive action in various countries' laws and policies) refers to a set of policies and practices within a government or organization seeking ...

Personal life and death

Following two divorces, Edley married

Maria Echaveste Maria Echaveste (born May 31, 1954) is an American politician and civil rights activist who was a U.S. presidential advisor to Bill Clinton and White House Deputy Chief of Staff during the second Clinton administration.Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

. He died from complications of surgery in

Stanford, California Stanford is a census-designated place (CDP) in the northwest corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States. It is the home of Stanford University, after which it was named. The CDP's population was 21,150 at the United States Census, ...

, on May 10, 2024, aged 71.

Published works

* *

References

External links

*
President Clinton's Affirmative Action Review
1998
Faculty Bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Edley, Christopher Jr. 1953 births 2024 deaths 21st-century African-American academics 21st-century American academics Activists from New Rochelle, New York African-American legal scholars American legal scholars Clinton administration personnel Deans of UC Berkeley School of Law Harvard Law School alumni Harvard Law School faculty Lawyers from New Rochelle, New York New Rochelle High School alumni Swarthmore College alumni The Century Foundation UC Berkeley School of Law faculty United States Commission on Civil Rights members