Jennifer Mnookin

Jennifer Mnookin
Mnookin in 2025
21st President of Columbia University
Incumbent
Assumed office
July 1, 2026
Preceded byClaire Shipman (acting)
30th Chancellor of the University of Wisconsin–Madison
In office
August 4, 2022 – May 17, 2026
Preceded byKarl Scholz (a.i.)
Rebecca Blank
Succeeded byEric Wilcots (a.i.)
Personal details
Born1967 (age 58–59)
Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.
EducationHarvard University (BA)
Yale University (JD)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (PhD)
Academic background
ThesisImages of Truth: Evidence, Expertise, and Technologies of Knowledge in the American Courtroom (1999)
Michael Fischer
Academic work
DisciplineLaw
Institutions

Jennifer Leigh Mnookin (born 1967) is an American legal scholar and the current president of Columbia University. She was the 30th chancellor of the University of Wisconsin–Madison from August 2022 to May 2026, and previously served as dean of the UCLA School of Law from August 2015 to June 2022.

Early life and education

Born in 1967 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Jennifer Mnookin is the daughter of Dale Mnookin and Robert Mnookin, a professor at Harvard Law School.[1][2] Her family is Jewish and she was raised in the Bay Area.[3]

Mnookin received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard University in 1988, a Juris Doctor degree from Yale Law School in 1995, and a Ph.D. in the history and sociology of science and technology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1999.[4][5] She was an editor for The Harvard Crimson when she was in college.[4]

Career

From 1998 to 2005, Mnookin was on the faculty of the University of Virginia School of Law, with one year (2002–2003) spent as a visiting professor at Harvard Law School.[6][7]

She joined the faculty of the UCLA School of Law in 2005, where she served as vice dean for faculty and research from 2007 to 2009, as vice dean for faculty recruitment and intellectual life from 2012 to 2013, and as dean from August 2015 to June 2022.[8]

University of Wisconsin–Madison

On May 16, 2022, the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System announced they had unanimously chosen Mnookin to be the 30th chancellor of the University of Wisconsin–Madison. She took office on August 4, 2022.[9]

Beginning in 2023, Mnookin promoted a series of events, titled "Deliberation Dinners", designed to foster civil dialogue around contentious issues among students, faculty, and staff.[10] These events grew into a larger initiative launched in December 2025 called "The Wisconsin Exchange: Pluralism in Practice,"[11] encompassing a campus-wide program of workshops, fellowships, grants, and dedicated lectures.

While Mnookin has been praised by faculty, staff, and administration for critical advancements in university infrastructure, research expenditures, and financial assistance,[12] she has come under criticism by undergraduates for her initial handling of protests against the Gaza War in the Spring of 2024, and a perceived lack of engagement with student groups.[12] She has additionally faced criticism by undergraduates and alumni for the performance of Head Football Coach Luke Fickell, who was hired at the beginning of her tenure, and has presided over consecutive losing seasons for the Wisconsin Badgers, as well as declining home attendance at Camp Randall Stadium.[13]

Gaza war protests

On April 29, 2024, students and community members established a Gaza war protest encampment on Library Mall.[14] Mnookin designated campus leaders to meet with protest leaders and pledged to meet with protesters personally when the tents, which were in violation of state law,[15] were removed.[16]

On May 1, 2024, Mnookin authorized campus police to dismantle the encampment.[17] They were assisted by the Madison Police Department, the Dane County Sheriff's Office, and Wisconsin State Patrol. There were 34 arrests; most protesters were released without citation, with four booked at the county jail.[18]

In response to this action, State Assembly Speaker Robin Vos praised Mnookin "for doing the right thing".[18] Alderman MGR Govindarajan, who represented the campus area on the Madison Common Council, said that the "actions seen this morning were beyond what was necessary".[19]

The Associated Students of Madison (ASM) and the UW-Madison Students for Justice in Palestine condemned the action, urging the university administration to allow the students to express their First Amendment rights[19] divest from investments in Israel, and negotiate in good faith.[18]

Following the arrests, protesters reinstated the camp and negotiations commenced between students and campus administration. Mnookin met with student protest leaders on May 2,[20] and a settlement was reached to end the encampment on May 10.[21]

Columbia University

Following the resignation of Minouche Shafik related to the April 2024 Gaza Solidarity Encampment and broader protest movement at Columbia University, the interim presidencies of Katrina Armstrong and Claire Shipman, and the university's $221 million settlement with the Trump administration, the university's Board of Trustees announced on January 25, 2026, that Mnookin would be the incoming 21st president of Columbia University, effective July 1, 2026.[22]

On August 20, 2026, the Chronicle of Higher Education reported that Mnookin "liked" a politically charged post about race in higher education on LinkedIn, seeming to take a position advocating for DEI in relation to recent debates about Tyler Austin Harper's essay in The Atlantic. Once asked by media outlets about her decision, the "like" was quickly removed and spokespeople said that Mnookin had accidentally hit the button.[23]

Research and social engagement

Her scholarship focuses on the interconnections between evidence, science and technology, and legal and cultural ideas about proof and persuasion. She has written on topics ranging from the history of photographic evidence to the complexities of the Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment with respect to expert evidence. She is a co-author of The New Wigmore, A Treatise on Evidence: Expert Evidence.[24] Much of her work has focused on the problems of forensic science evidence, especially pattern identification evidence like latent fingerprint identification.[5]

Her research on forensic science was cited extensively by the National Academy of Sciences's 2009 report.[25] She is a former member of the National Academy of Science's Committee on Science, Technology and the Law[26] and is on the advisory board of the Electronic Privacy Information Center.[27] She was the primary investigator for a National Institute of Justice project that sought to develop objective metrics for measuring the difficulty of fingerprint comparisons.[28] Her work on the Confrontation Clause was cited and discussed by the Supreme Court of the United States in Williams v. Illinois (2012).[29] In 2016, she co-chaired an advisory group to the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, which issued a report on the reliability of forensic science used in the courtroom.[30][31]

On April 23, 2020, she was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.[32]

Personal life

Mnookin married Joshua Foa Dienstag in 1996.[33] Dienstag is a professor of political science at Columbia University.[34] They have two children.[35]

References

  1. ↑ "Robert H. Mnookin". Harvard Law School. Retrieved January 27, 2026.
  2. ↑ "Robert H. Mnookin". Harvard Law School. Archived from the original on February 2, 2014. Retrieved January 24, 2014.
  3. ↑ Cramer, Philissa (January 26, 2026). "Columbia selects Jennifer Mnookin, Jewish U of Wisconsin chancellor, as its next leader". The Forward.
  4. 1 2 "Congratulations, Crimson Class of '88, And Good Luck". The Harvard Crimson. Archived from the original on February 1, 2014. Retrieved January 24, 2014.
  5. 1 2 "BiographyPage". law.ucla.edu. Archived from the original on December 14, 2017. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
  6. ↑ Meyerhofer, Kelly. "UCLA law dean Jennifer Mnookin named next UW-Madison chancellor. Republicans are criticizing the selection". Journal Sentinel. Retrieved January 26, 2026.
  7. ↑ Kremer, Rich (May 16, 2022). "UCLA law dean Jennifer Mnookin named UW-Madison chancellor". WPR. Retrieved January 26, 2026.
  8. ↑ "Mnookin, Jennifer". UCLA Law. Retrieved January 25, 2026.
  9. ↑ "Jennifer Mnookin named chancellor". University of Wisconsin–Madison. May 16, 2022. Archived from the original on November 12, 2022. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
  10. ↑ "Deliberation Dinners Year One Evaluation Executive Summary" (PDF). December 23, 2024.
  11. ↑ "UW-Madison launches privately funded 'pluralism' initiative to promote open conversation". October 22, 2025.
  12. 1 2 "Students, faculty split on Mnookin's legacy". Daily Cardinal. February 5, 2026.
  13. ↑ "Students, faculty split on Mnookin's legacy". February 5, 2026.
  14. ↑ Robinson}, Lucas (April 29, 2024). "Pro-Palestinian encampments go up at UW-Madison protest". Wisconsin State Journal. Retrieved October 9, 2024.
  15. ↑ "Wisconsin Legislature: UWS 18.07(4)". docs.legis.wisconsin.gov. Retrieved October 9, 2024.
  16. ↑ Kelly Meyerhofer; Sophie Carson; Bridget Fogarty; Claire Reid; Jordyn Noennig. "Evers on encampments: 'We will eventually take action if we have to': Updates". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved October 9, 2024.
  17. ↑ Mnookin, Jennifer (May 2024). "Chancellor". University of Wisconsin-Madison News. University of Wisconsin-Madison. Retrieved May 6, 2024.
  18. 1 2 3 Jacobs, Becky; Garfield, Allison (May 1, 2024). "Police descend on Gaza war protesters at UW-Madison, begin arrests". The Capital Times. Retrieved May 6, 2024.
  19. 1 2 Kleiber, Anna; Bereny, Annika; Mbongwo, Amari; Escott, Gavin; Engst, Kodie; Bosch, Mary; Sinn, Nicholas; Goldhaber, Noe; Ronen, Tomer; Hartlaub, Gabriella; Goeking, Bryna (May 1, 2024). "Pro-Palestine protest day three: Protesters rebuild encampment after police remove tents". The Daily Cardinal. Archived from the original on September 19, 2025. Retrieved January 26, 2026.
  20. ↑ Anna Hansen; Kimberly Wethal (May 2, 2024). "Update: UW-Madison chancellor promises no police intervention until next meeting with protest leaders". Wisconsin State Journal. Retrieved October 9, 2024.
  21. ↑ "Chancellor Mnookin message following agreement to resolve Library Mall tent encampment". news.wisc.edu. May 10, 2024. Retrieved October 9, 2024.
  22. ↑ Otterman, Sharon (January 25, 2026). "Columbia Selects University of Wisconsin Chancellor as Its President". The New York Times. Retrieved February 4, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  23. ↑ Stripling, Jack (August 21, 2026). "Columbia's President 'Liked' a Post About DEI. Officials Say It Was a Slip of the Thumb". The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved August 22, 2026.
  24. ↑ "The New Wigmore: A Treatise on Evidence". Wolters Kluwer Law Store. CCH Incorporated. Archived from the original on February 18, 2023. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
  25. ↑ Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States. The National Academies Press. 2009. doi:10.17226/12589. ISBN 978-0-309-13130-8. Archived from the original on February 2, 2014. Retrieved January 24, 2014.
  26. ↑ "Current CSTL Members". sites.nationalacademies.org. NASEM. Archived from the original on March 4, 2018. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
  27. ↑ "EPIC Advisory Board". Electronic Privacy Information Center. Archived from the original on March 8, 2018. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
  28. ↑ Gavel, Lauri (February 11, 2010). "UCLA professors awarded major federal grant to study error rates in fingerprint evidence". UCLA Newsroom. Archived from the original on July 11, 2014. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
  29. ↑ "Williams v. Illinois". Archived from the original on May 21, 2022. Retrieved January 24, 2014.
  30. ↑ "Report to the President: Forensic Science in Criminal Courts" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on January 24, 2018. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
  31. ↑ Kisliuk, Bill. "Q&A with Jennifer Mnookin: Raising the bar for scientific evidence in court". UCLA Newsroom. Archived from the original on January 24, 2018. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
  32. ↑ "New 2020 Members Announced". American Academy of Arts & Sciences. April 23, 2020. Archived from the original on April 23, 2020. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
  33. ↑ "Weddings; Jennifer Mnookin, Joshua Dienstag". The New York Times. May 29, 1994. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on January 25, 2018. Retrieved January 27, 2018.
  34. ↑ "Joshua Foa Dienstag". Columbia University Department of Political Science. Retrieved August 14, 2026.
  35. ↑ "Reflections on Law Teaching". October 8, 2014. Archived from the original on August 3, 2018. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
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