Kevin Johnson

Kevin Johnson serves as Dean of the UC Davis School of Law and holds the Mabie-Apallas Professorship in Public Interest Law and Chicana/o Studies, having joined the faculty in 1989 and assumed the deanship in 2008.

His academic credentials include an A.B. in Economics from UC Berkeley and a J.D. from Harvard Law School, where he graduated magna cum laude while serving as Harvard Law Review editor.

Johnson's research centers on immigration law and policy, refugee law, civil rights, and Critical Race/Latina/o theories. His scholarship has produced seminal works including How Did You Get to Be Mexican? (1999), nominated for the Robert F. Kennedy Book Award, and Opening the Floodgates (2007), which significantly shaped national immigration reform debates.

His professional recognition includes:

• Distinguished Teaching Award from UC Davis Law School (1993)
• Clyde Ferguson Award from Association of American Law Schools (2004)
• Law Professor of the Year by Hispanic National Bar Association (2006)
• Scholar of the Year from National Association of Chicana and Chicano Studies (2008)
• Election to the American Law Institute (2003)

Johnson maintains active leadership in civil rights organizations as President of Legal Services of Northern California's board and board member of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund since 2006. His teaching portfolio encompasses immigration law, civil procedure, complex litigation, and Critical Race Theory courses.