Erwin Chemerinsky, the founding dean of UC Irvine’s School of Law, will become the next dean of UC Berkeley’s law school, ending his nine-year tenure in Orange County during which he has taught courses on the First Amendment, published multiple books and law review articles and argued in front of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Berkeley announced the appointment on Wednesday, May 17. Chemerinsky will begin his five-year term at Berkeley School of Law on July 1.

“Dean Chemerinsky is an acclaimed researcher, gifted teacher, and accomplished administrator,” Carol Christ, interim executive vice chancellor at Berkeley, said in a statement.

“I believe he will be a phenomenal leader for our law school, someone who will ensure that Berkeley Law remains not only a powerhouse of legal scholarship and training, but also a community built on mutual respect and inclusion.”

L. Song Richardson, who has a law degree from Yale University, will become the interim dean when Chemerinsky leaves UCI, that university said in a statement.

Richardson joined the faculty at the UCI law school in 2014, and teaches courses on criminal law, criminal procedure, and law and social science.

“I want to express my enormous gratitude to Dean Erwin Chemerinsky for all he has contributed to the success of the law school and the entire university during his tenure as dean,” said UCI Chancellor Howard Gillman in a statement. “I’m very grateful that Song Richardson has agreed to serve as interim dean, knowing that she will work with the law school community to maintain our extraordinary momentum.”

Richardson – who has also taught at DePaul University, American University and the University of Iowa – said in a statement Wednesday that she is “honored and humbled” to become interim dean and noted Chemerinsky’s role in turning the law school into an “extraordinary” institution.

“Through our collective leadership, I look forward to an exciting future for UCI law and to more continued success,” she said.

The university’s statement did not say when it will begin to search for a permanent dean.