Nancy Staudt will be the next dean of Washington University’s School of Law, the University announced Monday.

Staudt was a professor at the University from 2000-06 and is currently a vice dean at the University of Southern California Gould School of Law. Her appointment followed a six-month nationwide search.

When she takes the position on May 15, she will be one of two female deans holding the top positions in Washington University’s seven schools: Arts & Sciences, Sam Fox, Engineering, Business, the Brown School, School of Medicine and School of Law.

Provost Holden Thorp said Staudt was a particularly strong choice because of her record of achievement and growth potential, as well as the significance of her work in the area of tax policy.

“Diversifying the leadership team is an incredibly important part of what I came here to do, but in this case we hired the best candidate, and she also happened to bring that,” Thorp said. “We’re thrilled about that, but we’re thrilled in every respect to recruit Nancy [Staudt].”

As dean of the School of Law, Staudt will manage faculty, oversee admissions, set the school’s academic objectives, develop new programs and help with fundraising initiatives.

“We were looking for…someone who’s a great scholar, who has indications of being an excellent administrator,” Thorp said. “The fact that her scholarship is in such an important area of legal studies is also a great thing. Everyone we talked to said it would be a huge loss for USC and great thing for Washington University if we were able to move her here.”

Staudt will be succeeding Kent Syverud, who was named chancellor of Syracuse University last fall. Professor Daniel Keating has been serving as dean in the interim.

“This is a wonderful moment in time to rejoin Washington University—one of the most thriving and exciting academic communities in the country today,” Staudt told the University Record. She could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Staudt met with law faculty while interviewing for the position, and Thorp expects her to come to campus multiple times before moving back to St. Louis later this spring.

“It’s just enough time for her to kind of get her feet on the ground…and have a good transition,” Thorp said. “She has a lot of things to do and she’s a very energetic person, so I expect we’ll see her a fair amount.”