A renowned legal scholar was reappointed Monday as dean of the new law school at the University of California, Irvine, a week after the school rejected him.
Erwin Chemerinsky, a liberal scholar and commentator on constitutional law who recently represented exposed CIA agent Valerie Plame, was re-offered the position after talking in depth with UC Irvine Chancellor Michael V. Drake over the weekend.
His appointment must be approved by the UC Board of Regents.
Chemerinsky previously said Drake told him the offer had been withdrawn Sept. 11 because some board members were concerned about Chemerinsky’s politics. Drake has insisted that Chemerinsky did not lose the post because of his politics.
Drake traveled to North Carolina to talk with Chemerinsky over the weekend. In a joint teleconference Monday, they lavished praise on each other, but declined to detail the nature of their discussions. Both said they were eager to put the past behind.
“When we got everything cleared up between us, the distance was gone,” Drake said.
Chemerinsky agreed. “We were able to really see that what may have been significant differences weren’t actually differences.”
