Michael H Schill

Early life and career

Schill was born in Schenectady, New York, to Simon Schill and the former Ruth Coplon. He attended Linton High School and Princeton University, receiving his AB summa cum laude in 1980 from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. He received his JD 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.

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 and joined the Board of Governors of Argonne National Laboratory.

Schill is a co-author (with Jesse Dukeminier, James Krier and Greg Alexander) of Property, a major casebook now in its seventh edition. He has also co-authored Reducing the Cost of New Housing Construction in New York City: 2005 Update (Center For Real Estate and Urban Policy, 2005) (with Jerry Salama and Jonathan Springer), Revitalizing America’s Cities: Neighborhood Reinvestment and Displacement (State University of New York Press, 1983) (with Richard P. Nathan), and The State of New York City’s Housing and Neighborhoods, 2003, 2004, 2005 (Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy) (with Denise Previti). He is also the editor of Housing and Community Development in New York City: Facing The Future (State University of New York Press, 1999). He has published more than 40 journal articles and book chapters.

Schill 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, and Housing Policy Debate. He has received research grants from the Fannie Mae Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, the Ford Foundation, and the United States Department of Commerce, among others.

On April 14, 2015, Schill was named the next President of the University of Oregon.

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 (CHPC). 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, Sarah Gerecke, 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." Jerilyn Perine, 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."