Michael H. Schill


Michael H. Schill is the 18th President of the University of Oregon and a law professor at the University of Oregon School of Law. He is the former Dean and currently the Harry N. Wyatt Professor of Law Emeritus at the University of Chicago Law School. He was appointed President on April 14, 2015 by the University of Oregon Board of Trustees. He assumed the presidency on July 1, 2015 and was formally invested on June 1, 2016. Schill is the author of three books and numerous articles, and focuses his scholarship in the areas of real estate and housing policy. His casebook, Property, co-authored with Jesse Dukeminier, James Krier, Greg Alexander, and Lior Strahilevitz is the best-selling casebook used in American law schools.

Early life and career

Schill was born in Schenectady, New York, to Simon Schill and the former Ruth Coplon. He was a first-generation college student and attended Linton High School and Princeton University, where he graduated with an A.B. from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs in 1980 after completing a 166-page long senior thesis titled "Reinvestment and Displacement: A Research Strategy." He received his J.D. from Yale Law School in 1984 where he was an editor of the Yale Law Journal. Immediately following his graduation from law school, he clerked for the Honorable Marvin Katz of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania for the 1984 term. He practiced law at the law firm of Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver and Jacobson from 1985 to 1987.

President of the University of Oregon

On April 14, 2015, Schill was named President of the University of Oregon. He has focused on three priorities to advance the UO's mission: enhancing academic and research excellence, supporting student access and success, and improving campus experience and diversity.
In 2016, Schill announced the launch of the Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact, a billion dollar initiative to transform innovation at the UO, the first phase of which was anchored by a $500 million gift from the Knights. Under Schill's leadership, the UO partnered with Oregon Health and Science University to seed new academic opportunities to benefit society and create a biomedical data science center focused on finding treatments and cures for cancer.
During his time as president from 2015 to 2019, the University of Oregon has raised $1.3 billion and extended its comprehensive campaign goal to $3 billon. The campaign will be the largest in the university's history.
He announced the Oregon Commitment in 2015, an effort focused on supporting student success by improving four-year graduation rates and providing more access to higher education through programs such as PathwayOregon, which provides free tuition, fees, and specialized advising to eligible Oregonians. This initiative also included the hiring of two dozen new academic advisors trained in an integrated approach to providing academic and career-readiness support to students. In an effort to encourage the exchange of ideas and make campus more inclusive and equitable, Schill held a series of events focused on freedom of expression, launched an African American speaker series, oversaw the development of thirty-four diversity action plans for each major administrative and academic unit on campus, and championed the creation of a new Black Cultural Center, which opened in 2019.

Academic and decanal career

In 1987, Schill joined the faculty at the University of Pennsylvania Law School and the Wharton School. He served as Assistant Professor of Law from 1987 to 1992, and became Professor of Law in 1992. From 1993 to 1995 he was Professor of Law and Real Estate. In 1995 he moved to the New York University School of Law and Wagner School of Public Service, becoming Professor of Law and Urban Planning. Simultaneously, he became the founding Director of the Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy. He held both positions until 2004, and in 2003 he additionally became the Wilf Family Professor in Property Law.
In 2004, Schill became Dean and Professor of Law at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law. During his five and one-half years at UCLA, Schill recruited leading legal scholars from top schools across the nation and established thirteen endowed chairs. He launched three new legal research centers and two academic specialization programs. Alumni participation in fundraising doubled during his decanal tenure, and private philanthropy tripled. Schill served as Chair of the Council of Professional School Deans and sat on the UCLA Chancellor's Executive Committee.
During Schill's tenure as dean of the University of Chicago Law School in 2010, the Law School expanded its faculty, increased incoming student credentials to record levels, doubled fundraising and established new centers and curricula in law and economics, business leadership and public interest law. In addition to serving as Dean of the Law School, Schill was appointed Professor in the College where he taught a course in law and urban problems.
Schill is a co-author of Property, a major casebook now in its ninth edition. He has also co-authored Reducing the Cost of New Housing Construction in New York City: 2005 Update , Revitalizing America’s Cities: Neighborhood Reinvestment and Displacement , and The State of New York City’s Housing and Neighborhoods, 2003, 2004, 2005 . He is also the editor of Housing and Community Development in New York City: Facing The Future. He has published more than 40 journal articles and book chapters.
Schill is a member of the Board of Trustees of Ithaka Harbors. He has served as a member of the New York City Loft Board, the New York City Neighborhood Investment Advisory Panel, the Fannie Mae New York Partnership Office, Housing Policy Debate and the Board of Governors of Argonne National Laboratory. He has also received research grants from the MacArthur Foundation, the Ford Foundation, and the United States Department of Commerce, among others.

Honors

In 2011, Schill was inducted as a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
In April 2010, Schill was presented with the Impact Award for Excellence in Housing from New York City's Citizens Housing and Planning Council. Schill was recognized for his work as the founding director of the Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy. During the presentation of the Impact Award, , then the Executive Director of the Furman Center, said of Schill, "Mike is a builder. His academic research built new ways of thinking about problems, ranging from fair housing to one government’s condemnation of another government’s land. He built confidence and critical thinking skills in all the students lucky enough to work with him. He built the foundation for change in his path-breaking policy analyses like reducing the cost of new construction in New York City. And he’s built institutions that have a far greater impact than they would without him." , Executive Director of the Citizens Housing & Planning Council, said "Mike’s work at Furman was marked by his careful, conducted research that policymakers and the public could always rely on. He was expert at vigorously defending his positions, but in the nicest possible way."