Teaching was not her goal when Professor Carol Chomsky earned her J.D. degree, summa cum laude, from Georgetown University. Nor was the Midwest her destination, at least not before the Long Island native spent a year practicing at a firm in Moorhead, Minnesota. But after a few years at a small criminal defense firm in Washington, D.C., she decided that teaching rather than practicing law would be more fulfilling. She joined Minnesota Law in 1985. 

Tackling civil procedure that first year, then switching to contracts the next, she found that she enjoyed teaching and the intellectual environment in a school where she felt fully supported by its faculty. Because the Law School had no formally trained legal historians, she decided to explore the subject, which had intrigued her during law school. 

Chomsky soon became an expert in the history of women lawyers, American Indian legal history, and late nineteenth-century American legal history. Her article on the trials following the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862 remains an important analysis of this formative event. She also worked to expand equity, access, and social justice in the profession, serving as co-president of the Society of American Law Teachers (2000- 2002), co-president of Minnesota Women Lawyers (1993-94), and, since 2010, Infinity Project board member. She was named to the American Law Institute in 1994. 

Her teaching garnered high praise from colleagues who describe her as thoughtful, purposeful, and dedicated. “In the last years leading up to retirement, when some are tempted to rely on the way that always worked for them, she was still innovating,” said William McGeveran, interim dean and Gray, Plant, Mooty, Mooty & Bennett Professor of Law. Chomsky was one of the first in the Law School to adopt Canvas, a web-based learning and course management system. “She dove right in, adapted it for her classes, and then helped others on the faculty do the same for theirs,” says McGeveran. “It’s just one illustration of how she was always mindful about updating her teaching and the classroom experience.” 

Teaching changed significantly during her career, Chomsky says. The traditional Socratic method of an expert leading a class by grilling individual students yielded to a learning theory-based model where teachers use structured conversations in small groups to help students navigate legal issues. “It’s much more experiential, a more dynamic and fun way that works well for most students,” Chomsky says. She co-authored innovative, student-oriented casebooks in contracts and sales and greatly expanded experiential opportunities in the judicial externship program. 

“One of the joys of teaching is learning as you go,” she says. “You might have a plan, but when you’re engaging with students who are interested and curious, you go where that conversation takes you.” 

Chomsky also dedicated herself to institutional service. “She held numerous important positions in faculty governance, including as University Senate vice chair, and served as the voice of the Law School,” says McGeveran. “That’s not something you get enough thanks for. It’s very, very important. She thought that those who are doing the teaching and research should have something to say about the way their schools are governed, and she gave her time to make sure that happened.” 

Chomsky engaged with law faculty across the country, focusing on teaching methodology. As coordinator for the University’s Early Career Teaching and Learning Program (1999-2004), she helped junior faculty in various disciplines learn how to teach more effectively. Her work with the University’s Multicultural Teaching and Learning Fellows Program (co-director, 2003-2008) fostered diversity and multiculturalism in University classrooms. 

At the Law School, Chomsky established the Structured Study Group program to support 1L students. “She bridges the gap between how law is taught and how students experience law in the classroom,” says Kim Ronning, director of academic and bar success. When Ronning moved to Minnesota in 2020, Chomsky became her mentor and role model, orienting her to the community as well as to students, staff, and faculty. Chomsky’s persistence, confidence, and dedication to work-life balance won Ronning’s admiration. 

“She’s extremely detail-oriented, but she’s also able to zoom out,” Ronning says. “She’s willing to defer to my vision of the program, and we have discussions about how to manifest that. She’s been amazing.”

In recent years, Chomsky has become a state and national leader in attorney licensing reform. Although retiring, she plans to continue writing and pursuing her passions, including producing a new edition of one of her casebooks and advocating for experiential paths to attorney licensing. 

Among colleagues, Chomsky’s influence will undoubtedly linger. “She was a remarkably strong member of our faculty,” says Robert Stein ’61, Everett Fraser Professor of Law and former dean. He applauds her keen interest in new technologies, new teaching formats, and University governance. “She was also such a leader in encouraging faculty,” he says. “That comes from within. She did it, and she did it well.”