Prof. Reuel Schiller marks 30 years of teaching and innovative scholarship at UC Law SF
Professor Reuel Schiller brings a historian’s curiosity to questions of law, government, workers’ rights and social change.
- Professor Reuel Schiller has since 1996 taught at UC Law SF while advancing scholarship on legal history, labor and civil rights.
- His donor-supported scholarship has earned national recognition, including the John Philip Reid Book Award from the American Society for Legal History.
- He has taught and mentored generations of students while serving in key academic leadership roles.
Professor Reuel Schiller has guided careers and illuminated vital aspects of American law and life for 30 years at UC Law SF. Schiller, who joined the faculty in 1996, has built a distinguished career studying American legal history, administrative law, labor law and the civil rights movement. His scholarship has earned numerous honors, including the American Society for Legal History’s John Philip Reid Book Award for his 2015 book, “Forging Rivals: Race, Class, Law, and the Collapse of Postwar Liberalism.”
In the classroom, Schiller has taught American Legal History, Administrative Law and Labor Law. He currently advises J.D. students pursuing the Work Law Concentration. His teaching has also earned multiple honors, including the Rutter Award for Teaching Excellence and repeated recognition by students as an Outstanding Faculty Member. Named the Honorable Roger J. Traynor Chair and a Distinguished Professor of Law, Schiller has remained deeply committed to teaching and mentoring students — many of whom say his generosity, approachability and example have had a lasting influence on their careers.
He also has served in leadership roles at the College, including as associate academic dean and associate dean for research.
In the conversation below, Schiller shares what he finds most rewarding about his work and what has kept him teaching at UC Law SF for three decades.
What do you like most about teaching law students?
I chose to become a teacher because I found the topics I study – legal history, labor law, the administrative state – to be endlessly fascinating. One of the greatest pleasures of teaching is seeing students engage with these subjects and become enthralled with them.
What makes UC Law SF a special place, and what’s kept you teaching here for decades?
Even after 30 years at UC Law, I am constantly reminded of how lucky I am to have landed here. This is an incredibly supportive, low-drama institution. My colleagues and the administration are kind, generous and collaborative. This has remained true for my entire time here, through several deans and the hiring of dozens of new colleagues. That demonstrates how these attributes are part of our institutional culture. I can’t imagine wanting to leave a place that has developed such a welcoming, warm-hearted community.
The opportunity to teach our bright, ambitious, compassionate students is, of course, the other thing that has kept me here. It is a privilege to teach our diverse student body, many of whom don’t take their access to higher education for granted. They think critically, support one another, and bring their intelligence and curiosity into the classroom daily. They make the time I spend in the classroom some of the happiest hours of my week.
What contributions have made your time at UC Law SF especially meaningful?
Learning to be a good teacher is a lifelong process, and it has been one of the greatest pleasures of my career. I think I’ve become pretty good at it, and I love the constant challenges that it presents.
UC Law has been exceptionally supportive of my scholarship, and this has allowed me to produce prize-winning work that has had a real impact in my field.
I spent four years as an administrator here — two years as the associate academic dean and two years as research dean. Serving in these roles allowed me to support law students navigating difficult circumstances, which gave me an enormous sense of satisfaction. It was also satisfying to support colleagues doing pathbreaking scholarly work. The most rewarding aspect of my time as an administrator, however, was working directly with so many talented, hardworking staff members. This gave me a much fuller picture of the College and the people who make it thrive.
How has donor support has made a difference in your work?
I have received incalculable support from our donors for my scholarly research. This support has allowed me to travel to archives, acquire historical materials on microfilm, and take on a reduced teaching schedule when needed to focus on research and writing.
Alumni share how Schiller influenced their lives and careers
“I graduated from UC Law SF in 2008, so it’s been almost two decades since I first had Reuel as a professor, in both legal history and labor law. He also supervised my student note on the nondelegation doctrine, which all these years later is still picking up citations and influencing my current life as a law professor, as it influenced my prior work as a practicing labor lawyer. My path after UC Law SF has followed every twist and turn – ones both imaginable and unimaginable. Reuel has been there through them all, as a professor and mentor, a friend, and now (dare I say) as a colleague and fellow labor law scholar. I think often of Reuel as the model for my own teaching, scholarship, and mentorship. I couldn’t possibly overstate his importance to my connection to UC Law SF.”
– Andrew J. Ziaja ’08, assistant professor of law at University of Baltimore School of Law
“Reuel Schiller is the rarest type of professor – one enthusiastically committed to all aspects of the job: scholarship, pedagogy, and mentorship. As a student, I benefitted most from how generous Prof. Schiller was with his time. It would be hard to count the number of office visits, phone calls, email exchanges and coffee outings in which Schiller lent his ear, expertise, and wisdom to my academic and professional queries. I carry pieces of his teaching with me every day in my career.”
— Corey Sherman ’24, organizing director for SEIU Local 521
“I was lucky enough to be Professor Schiller’s research assistant in 2013. His commitment to his students, humility, and approachability have always stayed with me. Law school was an intimidating environment, but Professor Schiller has an energy about him that makes students feel welcome and comfortable approaching him with their thoughts and questions. His kindness is apparent, and had a real effect on me.”
— Linda Lam ’14, partner at Gibbs Mura
Decades in the Making highlights the contributions of faculty members who have spent 20 or more years at UC Law SF, recognizing their enduring impact on students’ lives and careers.