Nancy Pinn has been appointed assistant dean for the Harvard Law School Graduate Program and International Legal Studies. Pinn, who joined the law school in 2001 as assistant director for LL.M. affairs, has served as interim assistant dean for the Graduate Program and International Legal Studies since October 2024.
“Nancy brings a deep understanding of the value of international engagement from her professional experience and her more than two decades with Harvard Law School’s Graduate Program,” said John Goldberg, the Morgan and Helen Chu Dean and Professor of Law at Harvard Law School. “She is known to a generation of Harvard Law graduates as someone who goes above and beyond to support our students. I am delighted that Nancy has agreed to help lead our Graduate Program as it enters its second century.”
Over her tenure at the graduate program, Nancy has progressively expanded her responsibilities, from her first position managing LL.M. affairs to her more than 20 years as head of administration and student affairs. She has guided and mentored generations of LL.M. and S.J.D. students, serving a pivotal role in ensuring they have the necessary resources, programming, and support to succeed.
“Over the past 24 years, Nancy has dedicated herself to the wellbeing of our graduate students, giving it her all. She has been a rock, a sanctuary, a trusted advisor, and an occasional therapist to thousands of students,” said Gabriella Blum LL.M ’01 S.J.D. ’03, vice dean for the Graduate Program and International Legal Studies and Rita E. Hauser Professor of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law. “Nothing could be more natural than her transition now into the role of assistant dean. With her wisdom, wit, abundant compassion, and unwavering commitment, the Graduate Program is set to thrive.”
“Sharing the journeys of thousands of amazing LL.M. and S.J.D. students, from application to graduation and beyond, has been an unparalleled privilege over my time at HLS,” Pinn said. “I am grateful for this chance to continue to support these journeys, alongside my tremendously talented colleagues.”
As head of administration and student affairs from 2004 to 2024, Pinn oversaw the development and implementation of programs central to the academic progress and quality of life for graduate-level degree candidates. She also selected, trained, and supervised a network of doctoral candidates to serve as peer advisors and coordinators, and managed the law school’s visiting researcher program.
In 2019, Pinn received the Suzanne L. Richardson Staff Appreciation Award during Harvard Law School’s Class Day exercises. Pinn was honored by the graduating Harvard Law School class for her “exceptional professionalism, empathy and genuine care.” She is also a past recipient of the Dean’s Award for Excellence.
In addition to her work with the Graduate Program, Pinn has served as a pre-concentration adviser to students at Harvard College and has participated in the Harvard Mediation Program.
“I am delighted that Nancy is our new assistant dean. She brings to the role enormous experience, unerring judgment, profound humanness, and a wicked sense of humor. I am so pleased for our students, for the school, and for her,” said William P. Alford ’77, former vice dean and now senior advisor to the Graduate Program and International Legal Studies and the Jerome A. and Joan L. Cohen Professor of Law.
Pinn earned a B.A. in English from Tufts University, and a J.D. and a M.A. in East Asian studies from Washington University in St. Louis. During her education, she studied abroad in Tokyo, Japan, and in Shanghai, China.
Prior to joining Harvard Law School, she served as an attorney for corporate entities in the U.S. and in Japan, most notably with the legal and patent department of a Japanese multinational company at its Iwaki, Japan headquarters. She began her career in Japan, where she worked for the Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education as an English teacher and for the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, as a coordinator for international relations.
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