Yale Law School Association Honors Pamela S. Karlan and Heather K. Gerken with Award of Merit

During this month’s Alumni Weekend celebration, the Yale Law School Association recognized Pamela S. Karlan ’84 and former Dean and Sterling Professor Emeritus Heather K. Gerken as its 2025 Award of Merit honorees.

Frank R. Jimenez ’91, president of the Yale Law School Association’s Executive Committee, started the event with introductory remarks.

“Over the years, this award has been presented to some of the most accomplished and inspiring figures in law and public life, whose achievements have advanced justice, strengthened institutions, and inspired generations,” said Jimenez. “This year, we are especially proud to recognize two distinguished individuals whose leadership, scholarship, and service have shaped not only Yale Law School but also the broader legal landscape.”

Former Dean and Sterling Professor of International Law Harold Hongju Koh introduced Karlan and Gerken with personal remarks and spoke about their contributions to higher education, public service, and the legal profession. 

Since 1957, the Yale Law School Association has annually bestowed the Award of Merit to graduates or faculty of Yale Law School. The Award of Merit is the highest honor given by the Yale Law School Association.

Read more about Alumni Weekend 2025

Pamela S. Karlan ’84

After earning her J.D. from the Law School in 1984, Karlan clerked for Judge Abraham D. Sofaer of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York and Justice Harry A. Blackmun of the U.S. Supreme Court. In 1998, she joined the faculty of Stanford Law School, where she currently serves as the Kenneth and Harle Montgomery Professor of Public Interest Law and co-director of the Supreme Court Litigation Clinic. 

“After clerking, Pam lived her values, and she became a unique quadruple threat: a superstar teacher, an extraordinary pathbreaking scholar, a pioneering litigator, and a courageous public servant,” said Koh. 

Karlan’s public service includes a term on the California Fair Political Practices Commission, time as an assistant counsel and cooperating attorney for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, and positions as the deputy assistant attorney general and the principal deputy assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice during the Obama and Biden administrations. In addition to the Award of Merit, she is the recipient of the Attorney General’s Award for Exceptional Service, The John Hart Ely Prize, the Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award, and was named to the 2016 Politico 50 list.

“It was [at Yale Law School] where I fell in love with the rest of my life in the law,” Karlan said in her remarks. “Before I got to Yale, I couldn't have imagined that I would love my classmates so much…. And of course, I fell even further in love with the law because of my teachers.”

Heather K. Gerken

Gerken served as the 17th dean of the Law School from 2017 until 2025, during which time she strengthened the School’s tradition of academic excellence, fortified support for the student body, and launched innovative new programming. She was the first female dean in the School’s history and served until being appointed as the 11th president of the Ford Foundation in 2025. 

“None of us [at the Law School] was surprised in 2017 when [Gerken] was named our dean, because we all knew that she would be a game changer — and as dean, change the game she did,” said Koh. 

Koh noted Gerken’s achievements accomplished during her tenure, including the launch of two law school pipeline programs; the establishment of the Hurst Horizon Scholarship; the start of the Tsai Leadership and Crossing Divides programs; and the School’s departure from the U.S. News & World Report rankings. He highlighted her ability to bridge the theory/practice divide in legal academia, increase the number of first-generation and veteran students, and leadership of the School through the COVID-19 pandemic, all while maintaining her tireless commitment to students, faculty, and staff alike. In 2006, Gerken founded the San Francisco Affirmative Litigation Project (SFALP) and continued to helm the clinic while serving as dean.

“Today, as she heads to her global future, let us just take this moment to say how proud we are to have watched this remarkable person grow from lawyer to leader to legend. To appreciate how very lucky we’ve been to have her as a colleague and friend for these 20 years … to realize how much we've lost, but also how much we gained,” said Koh. 

Gerken was named Sterling Professor Emeritus of Law in 2025, the premier campus honor for a Yale professor.

In her remarks, Gerken credited Law School alumni for their steadfast support during her deanship and said that she will take their inspiration with her as she embarks on her new role. 

“What I learned from Yale, and what I will bring with me to the Ford Foundation, is a simple lesson, which is that great institutions are only great because of the people within them,” said Gerken. “Leading the Law School across the last eight years has not always been easy, but it has always been a gift because of the people who make up this place.”