Jennifer L. Mnookin became the 30th leader of the University of Wisconsin–Madison in August 2022.  As chancellor, she oversees a campus of more than 50,000 students and 13 schools and colleges, all dedicated to leading-edge research, educational excellence, and innovating for the public good. 

Prior to leading UW–Madison, Mnookin served as dean of the UCLA School of Law where she spent 17 years on the faculty.

As one of the nation’s most cited legal scholars, she has written on topics ranging from photographic and film evidence to fingerprint identification and DNA evidence, to how scientific information is used within the legal system.

At UW-Madison, Mnookin has launched a cross-campus initiative called Wisconsin RISE (Research, Innovation, and Scholarly Excellence) to expand educational opportunities and research at UW–Madison around significant, complex challenges affecting Wisconsin and the world.

She also has led initiatives to increase access to UW-Madison and reduce student debt. One-quarter of in-state undergraduates are now covered by one of the university’s full-need programs, and two-thirds of undergraduates now graduate with no student debt.

Mnookin is an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a former professor at the University of Virginia School of Law and visiting professor of law at Harvard Law School.

She received her A.B. from Harvard University, her J.D. from Yale Law School, and a Ph.D. in History and Social Study of Science and Technology from M.I.T.  Mnookin and her husband, political scientist Joshua Foa Dienstag, have two adult children.