By Rachel Zarrell

Emily Spieler, dean of the Northeastern School of Law, has been named as a member of President-elect Barack Obama’s presidential transition team, university officials announced Tuesday.

During her time on Obama’s transition team, Spieler, who has been dean since 2002, will work on the education and labor team, which will review the US Department of Labor. She will serve on Obama’s team until his inauguration as president Jan. 20, said Renata Nyul, assistant director of Communications and Public Relations.

James Rowan, associate dean for experiential and community-based education and research at the Northeastern Law School, said Spieler is an expert in employment and health law. She has previously worked for the state of West Virginia as the Commissioner of Worker’s Compensation, as a special assistant attorney general at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and as a law professor at West Virginia University’s School of Law, Rowan said.

“She really has presented herself to be a highly qualified member of this presidential transition team,” Nyul said. “She definitely fits the bill.”

While working with Obama, Spieler will still act as dean of the Law School, said James Rowan, associate dean for experiential and community-based education and research at the Northeastern Law School.

“This is only for the transition process, and is not a full-time job,” Rowan said. “It’s a consulting obligation, and is a couple days a week between now and probably the inauguration, maybe not even as long as that.”

Spieler declined to comment, saying in an e-mail to The News that members of Obama’s transition team were not allowed to talk to the press.

“The law school is delighted, obviously,” he said of her appointment.

During her time at Northeastern, Spieler has worked to expand international and human rights collapse; joint decrees in international development and environmental law; and has sought to improve Northeastern’s offerings in public health, Rowan said.

Spieler was also a member of the Women’s Law Collective practice in Cambridge in the 1970s.

Spieler also led the Law School renovations in Dockser Hall, which were completed last summer, he said.

“She’s a leader in labor law and she has an outstanding resume that encompasses a breath of knowledge in various areas related to employment law,” Nyul said.

In 2001, Spieler received the Fulbright Award, which aims to increase mutual understanding between the people of the U.S. and other countries, and had an opportunity to go to Cork, Ireland, to spend a semester teaching at the University College. She is also a member of committees for the National Academies of Sciences, the National Academy of Social Insurance, the US Department of Energy and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

Spieler has been widely published in law journals on topics ranging from women’s rights, coal mining safety and occupational medicine and is “a leading authority on employment law and social insurance systems,” according to the law school’s website.

Leora Maccabee, a third-year law student and member of the NU College Democrats, said Spieler’s background in labor and employment law will be a big contribution to Obama’s transition team.

“I think it’s great that she’ll be using that expertise to sort of build a team that can put the country back on the right track,” Maccabee said.

Jason Palitsch, president of the College Democrats, said that while he did not know Spieler, he was happy about the appointment.

“The Northeastern University College Democrats and I are extremely proud that a member of our faculty will be playing a role in the transition,” Palitsch said.