Nelson, Dorothy Wright (1928-)

Dorothy Jean Wright was born to Harry and Lorna Wright on September 30, 1928. She earned her bachelor's degree from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 1950, and shortly thereafter married James Nelson, a lawyer and state court judge in Los Angeles. She continued her education, earning her J.D. from UCLA in 1953 and her LL.M. from the University of Southern California in 1956.

Nelson was in private practice in Los Angeles starting in 1954 until she joined the faculty at USC in 1957. There she advanced through the ranks of instructor, assistant professor, and associate professor to the post of interim dean in 1967. Then as a full professor, and barely 40 years of age, she became dean of the USC Law Center in ...