Susan Westerberg Prager (born December 14, 1942) is an American

legal scholar Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the a ...

and administrator. Prager served as the 11th Dean and President of

Southwestern Law School Southwestern Law School is a Private university, private Law school in the United States, law school in Los Angeles, California. It is accredited by the American Bar Association and enrolls nearly 1,000 students. Its campus includes the Bullocks ...

for eight years from 2013 to 2021, and was the first woman in the history of the law school to serve in the post.

Early life

On December 14, 1942, Prager was born in

Sacramento, California Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat, seat of Sacramento County, California, Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento Rive ...

. Prager grew up in Sloughhouse, California, a small agricultural community.

Education

In 1964, Prager earned her B.A. degree in history from

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

. Prager also earned an M.A. degree in history from

. She received her J.D. degree from

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

and was editor-in-chief of the

UCLA Law Review The ''UCLA Law Review'' is a bimonthly law review established in 1953 and published by students of the UCLA School of Law, where it also sponsors an annual symposium. Originally, UCLA Law proposed in 1950 that either Berkeley and UCLA should p ...

Career

Before leading

, Prager served as the sixth Executive Director and CEO of the

Association of American Law Schools The Association of American Law Schools (AALS), formed in 1900, is a non-profit organization of 175 law schools in the United States. An additional 19 schools pay a fee to receive services but are not members. AALS incorporated as a 501(c)(3) non- ...

for six years. Prior to her service at the AALS, Prager was the

provost Provost may refer to: Officials Ecclesiastic * Provost (religion), a high-ranking church official * Prince-provost, a high-ranking church official Government * Provost (civil), an officer of local government, including the equivalent ...

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

. From 1982 through 1998, Prager was the dean of the

UCLA School of Law The University of California, Los Angeles School of Law (commonly known as UCLA School of Law or UCLA Law) is the law school of the University of California, Los Angeles. History Founded in 1949, the UCLA School of Law is the third oldest of t ...

, giving her the longest tenure of any dean in UCLA Law history. Prager was the 13th President and the first woman President at

Occidental College Occidental College (informally Oxy) is a private liberal arts college in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1887 as a coeducational college by clergy and members of the Presbyterian Church, it became non-sectarian in 1910. It is ...

. In 1982, Prager became the first female dean of a law school in the UC system and only one of two female law school deans in the country. When Prager left her deanship in 1998, the law school established a faculty chair in her name. In addition, during her tenure at UCLA, Prager became the second woman to serve as the president of the

. Prager served for 14 years as a trustee of

during which time she served as the Vice President of the Board and she chaired the board's Academic Policy Committee. Prager also worked for

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

Thomas Kuchel Thomas Henry Kuchel ( ; August 15, 1910 – November 21, 1994) was an American politician. A moderate Republican, he served as a US Senator from California from 1953 to 1969 and was the minority whip in the Senate, where he was the co-mana ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, the minority whip in the Senate from 1959-1969, and for members of the U.S. House of Representatives, and the California State Assembly. She practiced law at Powe, Porter & Alphin in

Durham, North Carolina Durham ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Durham County, North Carolina, Durham County. Small portions of the city limits extend into Orange County, North Carolina, Orange County and Wake County, North Carol ...

before returning to the

faculty, where she focused on family law, community property, and historic preservation law.

Personal life

Prager's husband is Jim Prager. They have two daughters.

References

External links