College of Law will have new dean starting this summer

From a background in insurance and commercial law to a life in education, one legal expert is taking up the mantle of leadership at a Gem State institution of higher learning.

Starting on June 10, Aviva Abramovsky will be the full-time dean of the University of Idaho College of Law , taking over for Johanna Kalb, who has served as dean for three years.

“I am excited to join University of Idaho as dean of the College of Law and become a part of this inspiring and welcoming academic community ? one well known for its commitment to the highest quality of legal education,” she said. “For both the law school and university, this is an unprecedented time of opportunity.”

Abramovsky went on to say that she looks forward to building on Idaho’s “commitment to excellence by consistently engaging with the broader law school community to help our faculty, staff, students and alumni achieve their professional and educational goals.”

Prior to the U of I College of Law, Abramovsky was the William J. Magavern Faculty Scholar at the University of Buffalo Law School and was dean of the school from 2017 to 2023. She also taught at the Syracuse University College of Law for 13 years.

She has a background in insurance and commercial law, regulation of financial entities and legal ethics. Additionally, Abramovsky is a member of the American Law Institute and won the New York State Bar Association Professor David D. Siegel Award for outstanding contributions to the study of New York law.

Along with all of her other work, Abramovsky is also an author, having written “Uniform Commercial Code, West’s McKinney’s Forms for New York,” along with many other book chapters and articles related to insurance and commercial law.

According to U of I, she oversaw the expansion of the Buffalo University School of Law’s expansion of its experiential and clinical legal education program and its student support systems. “It was under her leadership that Buffalo launched the second undergraduate law program in the country, as well as a Doctor of Juridical Science degree.”

Abramovsky graduated from Cornell University, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in industrial and labor relations. She then went on to earn her juris doctor from University of Pennsylvania.

“I am truly honored by this opportunity and commit myself to achieving the aspirations of this unique institution to the very best of my abilities,” she said on being named dean at the U of I College of Law.

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