Kevin Washburn, University of Iowa College of Law professor and former dean, has been elected to the 2025 class of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences, founded in 1780 by John Adams and John Hancock, recognizes and celebrates the excellence of its members and operates as an independent research center bringing together leaders from across disciplines, professions, and perspectives to address significant challenges. Elected members join with other experts to produce studies that inform public policy.
Washburn will be inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in a ceremony in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in October.
“It’s a capstone to a career in some respects,” Washburn says of the honor. “It’s quite gratifying. I had no idea I was nominated, so it’s even more delightful because it was a surprise. I have a lot to learn yet, but it’s a big honor and I’m very happy.”
This year, nearly 250 new members were elected for their work in academia, the arts, industry, policy, research, and science. Washburn is among eight members recognized for work in law.
Given that few individuals with law backgrounds are inducted each year, Washburn says he looks forward to bringing his experience and expertise to reports and publications academy members work on across disciplines.
“I’ve spent my entire career in public service or public universities,” Washburn says. “I’ve spent a fair bit of time in the federal government, and the other half of my career in public academia. My mission has been to take what I learned in and around the federal government to try to change and improve public policy. Much of it is not high theory, but intensely practical, and it’s gratifying to feel I’ve made differences there. It always feels good when you’re having an impact.”
Washburn served as dean of the College of Law from 2018 to 2024.
“As dean of the law school at Iowa, I was able to continue my scholarship, albeit at a reduced pace,” Washburn says. “With support from the president, the provost and the law faculty, I was able to not just be an administrator but also to continue being a scholar. I think that productivity helped make this recognition from the American Academy of Arts and Sciences possible, and I am grateful to the University of Iowa for that outstanding support.”
Washburn previously served as the dean and Regents Professor of Law at the University of New Mexico School of Law and held faculty positions at the University of Arizona and University of Minnesota.
Before entering academia, Washburn worked as a trial attorney and then a prosecutor with the U.S. Department of Justice and served as the general counsel of the National Indian Gaming Commission. In 2012, he was appointed by President Barack Obama and confirmed by the Senate to be assistant secretary of Indian affairs at the U.S. Department of the Interior, a role he held until 2016.
Washburn, a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma, earned a Bachelor of the Arts in Economics from the University of Oklahoma and a Juris Doctor from Yale Law School.
“No one gets this kind of honor by their own work alone,” Washburn says. “A lot of people helped me along the way. With academic work, one works with some people directly and others whom you have only met through their own scholarship and work, and then you try to build on their work. An honor like this is a reminder that academia is a community. Hopefully, someone will read my work someday and gain insights and take it to the next level.”
Washburn joins the following UI faculty and administrators who have been elected members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences:
- François Abboud
- Nancy Andreasen
- Willard Lee “Sandy” Boyd
- Kevin Peter Campbell
- Donald Gurnett
- Linda Kerber
- James Leach
- Gerhard Loewenberg
- Marilynne Robinson
- Val Sheffield
- Garrett Stewart
- Michael Welsh