Daniel B. Kelly Named Scalia Law Dean

Daniel B. Kelly has been appointed the next dean of the Antonin Scalia Law School, effective June 25, 2026. Kelly succeeds Ken Randall, who has served as dean since 2020 and led the law school to its highest-ever ranking. Randall will remain on the faculty.

Kelly served as dean of the University of St. Thomas School of Law in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Prior to that role, he spent 15 years on the faculty at the University of Notre Dame, where he also led the Law School’s Program on Law & Economics and founded the University’s Fitzgerald Institute for Real Estate.

An interdisciplinary scholar with expertise in property law, real estate, and law and economics, Kelly is widely recognized for his research on property rights and real estate transactions. He has held visiting appointments at both the University of Chicago Law School and Harvard Law School and is a member of the American Law Institute and the American College of Real Estate Lawyers. He earned his law degree from Harvard Law School and his undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame.