Christopher Fairfield Edley Jr. (born January 13, 1953) was the Dean of the

University of California, Berkeley School of Law The University of California, Berkeley, School of Law (commonly known as Berkeley Law or UC Berkeley School of Law) is the law school of the University of California, Berkeley, a public research university in Berkeley, California. It is one of 1 ...

from 2004 to 2013. He serves as President of the Opportunity Institute, an organization he co-founded with

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States senat ...

advisor

Ann O'Leary Ann M. O'Leary (born 1971) is an American political advisor, attorney, and nonprofit leader, who served as Chief of Staff to California Governor Gavin Newsom and as co-chair of the Governor's Task Force on Business and Jobs Recovery. She is no ...

. Edley has been 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. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 76th governor of Georgia from 19 ...

and

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (Birth name, né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 ...

, 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 who served as United States Secretary of Education from 2009 to 2015 and as Chief Executive Officer of Chicago Public Schools from 2001 to 2008. A lifelong resident of Chicago, D ...

as co-chair of the congressionally chartered National Commission on Equity and Excellence in Education. He is married to

Maria Echaveste Maria Echaveste (born May 31, 1954) is a former U.S. presidential advisor to Bill Clinton and White House Deputy Chief of Staff during the second Clinton administration.

, former deputy chief of staff for U.S. President

. After receiving his undergraduate degree in mathematics from

Swarthmore College Swarthmore College ( , ) is a private liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1864, with its first classes held in 1869, Swarthmore is one of the earliest coeducational colleges in the United States. It was established as ...

he attended

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

, where he later served as a professor, teaching

Administrative Law Administrative law is the division of law that governs the activities of executive branch agencies of government. Administrative law concerns executive branch rule making (executive branch rules are generally referred to as " regulations"), ...

and founding the Harvard Civil Rights Project. He 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 ...

, 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 served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

, one of his former students at Harvard Law School. Bazelon, Emily (2007-11-26
On the Advice of Counsel
'' Slate.com'' He was elected to the

Common Cause Common Cause is a watchdog group based in Washington, D.C., with chapters in 35 states. It was founded in 1970 by John W. Gardner, a Republican, who was the former Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare in the administration of President ...

National Governing Board in 2010. On August 16, 2013, he announced his intention to resign as Berkeley Law dean, effective December 31, 2013. According to legal journalist Emily Bazelon, Edley "has written thoughtfully and moderately about affirmative action."

Published works

* *Administrative Law: Rethinking Judicial Control of Bureaucracy

References

External links

*
President Clinton's Affirmative Action Review
1998
Faculty Bio
American legal scholars African-American legal scholars Deans of UC Berkeley School of Law UC Berkeley School of Law faculty Harvard Law School faculty United States Commission on Civil Rights members Clinton administration personnel The Century Foundation Harvard Law School alumni Swarthmore College alumni Activists from New Rochelle, New York Lawyers from New Rochelle, New York 1951 births Living people New Rochelle High School alumni {{US-academic-administrator-1950s-stub