The American Bar Foundation (ABF) announced today that Mark C. Suchman stepped down as its Executive Director effective July 11, 2025.
The ABF expressed gratitude for Professor Suchman’s nearly two years of dedicated service and contributions to the organization’s scholarly mission. Under his leadership, the ABF has continued to provide a strong impact on the study of law and legal institutions, fostering collaborative research and strengthening ties with academia and legal practitioners.
Professor Suchman stated, “My proudest achievements at the ABF have been the growth of its research faculty, the broadening of its research coverage, and the support and mentoring of outstanding emerging scholars who will advance and transform empirical social science research for decades to come. After nearly two years as the ABF’s Executive Director, I look forward to returning to my own research and teaching, alongside my exceptional faculty colleagues at the ABF and Purdue.”
Sandra Chan, President of the ABF Board of Directors, responded, “The ABF deeply appreciates Professor Suchman’s service in leading the development of our new strategic plan and in expanding the ABF’s exceptional faculty and research portfolio during the first year of that plan. We are pleased that he will continue to advance our work as an ABF Research Professor in the coming years.”
Professor Suchman will serve in a joint appointment as a Research Professor at the ABF and a tenured Professor of Sociology at Purdue University.
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About the American Bar Foundation
The American Bar Foundation (ABF) is the world’s leading research institute for the empirical and interdisciplinary study of law. The ABF seeks to expand knowledge and advance justice through innovative, interdisciplinary, and rigorous empirical research on law, legal processes, and legal institutions. To further this mission the ABF will produce timely, cutting-edge research of the highest quality to inform and guide the legal profession, the academy, and society in the United States and internationally. The ABF’s primary funding is provided by the American Bar Endowment and the Fellows of The American Bar Foundation.