University of Arkansas selects alumna, Oklahoma professor for interim law school dean

The University of Arkansas named Katheleen Guzman the interim dean of its law school Friday, following months of controversy over the role. 

The university rescinded its offer to Emily Suski to lead the school in January following complaints from key Republicans over her background and legal positions on transgender athletes.

That decision garnered national attention, and sparked a student-led protest and concerns about chilling faculty’s free speech. 

UA Provost Indrajeet Chaubey sought recommendations for interim dean in February before narrowing the search to two UA law schools professors — Tiffany Murphy and Annie Smith. 

Chaubey requested staff feedback on the candidates in March prior to the university ultimately selecting Guzman for the role. 

Guzman, who earned law degrees from the UA and Yale Law School, will become interim dean effective July 1. She will serve a two-year term through June 30, 2028, “to provide leadership continuity while the university prepares a future search for the next dean,” according to a news release. 

“I am honored to return to Fayetteville to serve my alma mater during this time,” Guzman said in the release. “My focus as interim dean will be on upholding the School of Law’s long tradition of excellence and public service, and ensuring graduates are prepared to serve communities across Arkansas and beyond.”

Guzman joined the University of Oklahoma College of Law in 1993, where she teaches and researches about areas dealing with property and its transfer, according to her OU biography. She served as the 13th dean of the law school and the Fenelon Boesche Chair of Law. 

Guzman, who is licensed to practice law in Arkansas, has been a visiting professor of law at Villanova University and recently completed a three-year term on the Yale Law School Association Executive Committee, according to the release. 

Cynthia Nance, current dean of the UA law school, said she couldn’t be more pleased about Guzman’s appointment.

“She has shown tremendous dedication to students in her over 30-year career at OU Law, and her experience as a prior dean at a top law school as well as her deep family roots at the University of Arkansas will be incredibly valuable to our entire School of Law community,” Nance said. 

A member of the Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Arkansas Bars, Guzman has lectured nationally to students preparing for the bar examination, according to her OU biography. She has also served as Special Justice on the Cheyenne and Arapaho Supreme Court. 

Guzman writes about the intersections of property, culture and law, and her work has been cited in texts, treatises and case law. One of her earliest publications in 1995 explored outing, the forced exposure of a person’s same-sex orientation.