Dr. Nickey Woods is the associate dean for student life and community engagement and dean of students for the JD program at the USC Gould School of Law. She provides strategic leadership for student life and wellbeing, community engagement, and student support services, working closely with faculty, senior administrators, and university partners to advance student success in a rigorous academic environment.

Her responsibilities encompass crisis response, student conduct, orientation, leadership development, and coordination of support for students navigating complex academic and personal circumstances. She serves as the law school’s primary liaison with USC’s Office of Civil Rights Compliance. Her work emphasizes sound judgment, collaborative problem-solving, and a commitment to supporting students while upholding academic standards and institutional responsibilities.

Woods brings a decade of experience at USC and UCLA, with leadership spanning undergraduate, graduate, and professional student populations. Before joining USC Gould, she served as assistant dean for diversity, inclusion, and admissions in UCLA’s Graduate Division and held director and deputy director roles in UCLA’s Center for Accessible Education. Her work included graduate recruitment and retention, disability services, faculty collaboration, and coordinated responses to sensitive student concerns.

At USC, Woods contributes to university-wide student life initiatives and serves as a faculty-in-residence, supporting students through mentorship and residential community engagement. She previously served as Gould’s inaugural assistant dean of diversity, equity, and inclusion and has taught doctoral students in USC Rossier’s Organizational Change and Leadership program.

A former collegiate student-athlete, Woods also builds partnerships connecting law, athletics, and professional development. She serves as faculty advisor to Gould’s Sports Law Society and on the advisory board of Gould’s Center for Sports, Entertainment, Media & Technology.

A first-generation college graduate, Woods earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology at UCLA, where she was an honor roll student and an all-conference member of the women’s basketball team. She holds a master’s degree in education with an emphasis in cross-cultural teaching from National University and a doctorate in educational leadership, with a concentration in educational psychology, from the USC Rossier School of Education.