Rutgers Law–Camden Appoints Kimberly Mutcherson as New Vice Dean

Kimberly Mutcherson, a professor at Rutgers Law–Camden, has been appointed vice dean.

Mutcherson begins her new responsibilities as vice dean on July 1, when Adam Scales concludes his appointment as vice dean and returns to the faculty.

As vice dean, Mutcherson will oversee academic affairs at the law school, which enrolls approximately 500 full- and part-time students. Mutcherson will work with faculty on various academic scheduling and policy issues, including creating common rules for the Rutgers law schools in Camden and Newark, which are set to merge this summer, pending American Bar Association approval.

"Kim is an innovative and prolific scholar, an outstanding teacher, as well as a supremely competent institutional citizen,” says Rutgers Law–Camden Acting Dean John Oberdiek. “She will be a key player during this historic time in Rutgers legal education as Camden and Newark are poised to merge as Rutgers Law School.”

Mutcherson teaches courses in family law, bioethics, torts, health law policy, and South African constitutional law. She is a leading expert on assisted reproduction and reproductive justice. Her writing has appeared in a variety of scholarly journals including the Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy, Minnesota Law Review Headnotes, Indiana Law Journal, the Harvard Journal of Law & Gender, and the Yale Journal of Law and Feminism as well as in anthologies including Globalizing Healthcare (Oxford University Press, 2013)

In 2013, Mutcherson received the Center for Reproductive Rights Innovation in Scholarship Award. She is also a past recipient of the Chancellor’s Teaching Excellence Award (2011) and the Women’s Law Caucus Faculty Appreciation Award (2011 and 2014). She was also a Senior Fellow/Sabbatical Visitor at the Center for Gender and Sexuality Law at Columbia Law School. Alongside Rutgers Law Professor Carol Wallinger, Mutcherson is leading the development of the Medical Legal Partnership of Camden, a joint project with Cooper Medical School at Rowan University and Camden Coalition of Healthcare Providers. She is also an active supporter of the Rutgers–Camden public interest community and has served for many years on the Rutgers Pro Bono Advisory Committee.

Mutcherson came to Rutgers–Camden in 2002 after serving as a Kirkland & Ellis Fellow at the HIV Law Project , where she continued to work as a staff attorney when her fellowship year ended. She also served as an acting assistant professor of lawyering at the New York University School of Law, where she taught legal research, writing, and other legal skills to first-year law students.

A Collingswood resident, Mutcherson received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania and her J.D. from Columbia Law School, where she earned the Rosenmann Prize and was a Stone Scholar.

Scales began serving in the role of vice dean in July, 2012. He is co-director of the Center for Risk and Responsibility and is an expert in administrative law, insurance, and torts.

“Adam has been a steadfast advocate for the law school and we are grateful for his leadership,” Oberdiek says. “While we appreciate all of his accomplishments, we are equally excited to welcome Kim into this role during an unprecedented time for Rutgers Law School.”