Nydia Johnson '10
Associate Dean for Academic Success
B.A., Communication and Political Science, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, 2007
J.D., Southwestern Law School, 2010
Member, California State Bar
Joined Southwestern: 2012
Dean Johnson brings a wealth of experience fostering student success. She provides overall leadership for all aspects of the Academic Success and Bar Preparation Department and oversees support programming for first-generation students. Her previous experience includes serving as the Dean of Students and Diversity Affairs.
"I enjoy contributing to Southwestern’s longstanding commitment to preparing innovative and well-prepared legal professionals. Through academic success, bar preparation, and first-generation student support programming, I help guide students from their transition into law school through bar readiness. My goal is to create a culture where students feel supported and prepared to begin their legal careers as confident, capable, and thoughtful contributors to the profession."
Before joining Southwestern, Dean Johnson graduated from the University of Southern California with a double major in Political Science and Communication. She is a proud alumna of Southwestern Law School. While a student at Southwestern, she was a member of the Negotiation Honors Program and externed at Sony Pictures and Universal Music Group. Immediately after graduation, she continued as a Legal Consultant at Universal Music Group in the Business and Legal Affairs department. Dean Johnson also worked at a boutique criminal defense firm where her passion for criminal justice was born. She brought that passion to Southwestern’s Youth Offender Parole Clinic, which she co-supervised for several years.
She has taught Foundations of Law and Practice, Remedies, Advanced Topics in American Law and Fresh Perspective (a bar support course for alums). She formerly served as chair of the State Bar of California’s Law School Council.