Former OU College of Law Dean Katheleen Guzman has been appointed interim dean of the University of Arkansas School of Law, marking a return to the institution where she earned her bachelor of arts with honors and juris doctor with highest honors.
Guzman, who served as OU’s law school dean from 2019 to 2024 and spent more than three decades as faculty, will begin her two‑year term on July 1, according to the university.
Per reporting by the Arkansas Advocate, the University of Arkansas School of Law withdrew its offer to a previously selected dean in January. With the current dean’s term to end in June, officials appointed Guzman as interim dean while they conduct a national search, according to the university.
The news comes two years after Guzman stepped down from her deanship at OU, a period in which the college reached record U.S. News & World Report rankings. During her time as dean, OU Law admitted its most academically qualified class and expanded programs training faculty in areas such as oil and gas law and emphasized leadership, financial literacy and community engagement on student success.
Guzman first entered OU Law leadership in 2019 when she was selected to serve as interim dean after former Dean Joseph Harroz became interim OU president. She guided the college through the COVID-19 pandemic, strengthened faculty recruitment and expanded academic pathways, becoming the first woman to lead OU Law when she was named permanent dean in 2021 following a national search.
In a Monday statement, OU Law thanked Guzman for “more than 30 years of extraordinary service,” noting she shaped generations of students as a professor, mentor and friend. The college wrote it was proud to see her begin her next chapter at Arkansas.
Guzman joined OU Law faculty in 1993 and built her academic career teaching and writing on the intersections of property, culture and law. Before serving as dean, she held several administrative roles, including associate director of the Law Center and associate dean of academics. She holds law degrees from the University of Arkansas and Yale and has received multiple teaching and leadership awards throughout her career.
OU Law alum Alex Fugairon Salyer, class of 2002, described Guzman as warm, fair and deeply committed to student success.
“She was not only knowledgeable but warm and kind,” Salyer wrote. “She never intentionally tried to embarrass you. She was tough but fair … I learned a lot from her that I still carry with me.”
Reaction to the announcement on the University of Arkansas School of Law’s Facebook page was largely positive, though a few commenters raised concerns about the political climate surrounding legal education in Arkansas and the circumstances of the recent dean search.
University of Arkansas officials praised Guzman as a respected scholar and experienced administrator whose longstanding ties to the university will benefit students, faculty and staff. She will serve through June 2028 while the university prepares a formal search for its next dean.
This story was edited by Audrey McClour and Reagan Rozzi. Larkin Bock copy edited this story.
