DETROIT – The Wayne State University Board of Governors voted unanimously to appoint Richard A. Bierschbach as the university’s 14th president, effective immediately. The Board of Governors conducted its vote during a special meeting attended by students, faculty, staff and members of the community on Wayne State’s Midtown Detroit campus at the McGregor Memorial Conference Center.
Bierschbach has served as interim president at Wayne State since Sept. 17, 2025. Prior to his appointment, he served as dean of the Wayne State Law School during an eight-year period of increased national recognition, academic distinction and institutional stability. Bierschbach was appointed to a term through June 30, 2030.
“In his service to Wayne State, President Bierschbach has proven to be a strong, trusted and collaborative leader who continues to earn the respect of our campus and community,” said Board of Governors Chair Bryan C. Barnhill II. “During his tenure as our interim president, it has become apparent how much he lives, understands and advocates for our shared mission. We are confident in his ability to grow and advance our university and look forward to working with him to support future successes.”
Bierschbach’s appointment follows a series of listening sessions hosted by the Board of Governors. The sessions engaged faculty, students, staff, alumni, community members and business leaders in dialogue around their hopes and expectations for WSU’s next president.
“We consistently heard from our stakeholders that they wanted a president who understands Detroit and Michigan, has a deep understanding of and authentic connection to our university and its mission, strengthens partnerships, and will tackle challenges and opportunities head-on,” said Barnhill. “The board has found these essential qualities in our interim president. We’re grateful to have had such strong, passionate engagement during these sessions and are thrilled to have identified this kind of exceptional leadership from within our own community.”
In his time as interim president, Bierschbach ensured progress, stability, and continued growth and innovation at Wayne State during a tumultuous time in higher education. Under his leadership, Wayne State launched its Institute for AI and Data Science, funded 10 new College to Career Awards supporting student success, built continued momentum around the new Grand Challenges research initiative, planned for a forthcoming Higher Learning Commission accreditation site visit, and celebrated strong continued enrollment and record years for both fundraising and research expenditures.
“I am honored to serve as the 14th president of Wayne State University and grateful to the Board of Governors for their trust and confidence,” said Bierschbach. “Wayne State’s mission is rooted in accessible excellence that opens doors and creates opportunity. Every day, our community advances that mission through work that changes lives; strengthens our city, region, and state; and makes an impact around the world. We are public, urban education as it should be.
“During the past nine years — and even more so since September — I have worked alongside our students, faculty and staff and seen firsthand the Warrior Strong commitment and momentum across our campus,” he added. “I have witnessed every day, again and again, how Wayne State transforms lives and empowers communities. I am excited to work together with our community and partners to build on our progress, expand opportunities, and continue moving Wayne State forward in the service of our essential mission.”
As dean, Bierschbach led the Wayne State Law School through an unprecedented period of growth and institutional change. During his tenure, Wayne Law’s U.S. News & World Report ranking climbed 45 spots, to the highest in the school’s history. Post-graduation employment rates rose sharply to their highest rate on record, and philanthropic giving surged, with major gifts more than doubling, over $5 million being awarded in donor-funded scholarships, and the law school setting a record for total fundraising last fiscal year. As dean, Bierschbach led the development and launch of several innovative programs, including an online master of studies in law for non-lawyers, an interdisciplinary holistic defense program with the WSU School of Social Work, an interdisciplinary undergraduate minor in law and an interdisciplinary undergraduate B.A. in law, one of only six such programs in the entire country at the time. On the strength of that growth, the law school and university secured state approval for capital funding to replace the aging Law School Classroom Building, a project that is currently in the planning stages.
Bierschbach is an influential scholar and educator with expertise in criminal law and procedure, administrative law and regulation, and corporate governance. His primary research examines the ways in which the institutional and procedural structure of the criminal justice system interacts with its substantive and regulatory aims. His published work appears appears in the nation’s top law journals, including the Yale Law Journal, the Michigan Law Review, the Virginia Law Review, the University of Pennsylvania Law Review, the Northwestern University Law Review and the Georgetown Law Journal, among others. He previously served as vice dean and professor at Yeshiva University’s Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in New York City, where he was twice named Best Professor by the graduating class.
Before joining academia, Bierschbach clerked for Judge A. Raymond Randolph of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and Justice Sandra Day O’Connor of the U.S. Supreme Court. Between those clerkships, he was a Bristow Fellow in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of the Solicitor General and an attorney-advisor in the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, where he represented and advised executive branch agencies across the government on a wide range of legal issues. He also practiced law in various New York law firms, focusing on Supreme Court and appellate litigation. He has served in leadership roles within the American Bar Association and Association of American Law Schools, is an elected member of the American Law Institute, and is a Life Fellow of the American Bar Foundation.
Bierschbach is a native of Wyoming, Mich. His parents grew up on farms in the state. His mother is a first-generation American whose immigrant grandparents did not finish high school. His father worked nights at Steelcase when Bierschbach was young and never had the opportunity to attend college. Bierschbach earned his bachelor’s in history, summa cum laude, from the University of Michigan. He earned his law degree from the University of Michigan Law School, where he graduated first in his class and received the Henry M. Bates Memorial Scholarship Award, the law school’s highest honor.
Bierschbach lives in the Detroit area with his wife, Carina, and their two children, Lucas and Nora.
