“She was pushing for the school to be better every single day,” Minow said. “Some people didn’t really like being held to a standard and didn’t like being told you could do better.”

University Professor Frank I. Michelman said he believed her experience leading the Law School would translate well to her role on the Court.

“You have to deal with a lot of constituencies in ways that are considerate of and responsive to their interests,” Michelman said.

“Most relevant to the Supreme Court post is her decision-making style,” Minow said. “She would listen to each person carefully, remembering their comments even better than they did; approach each issue with an open mind; and reach a judgment based on fairness.”

“She was a beloved dean, as I hear regularly from faculty, students, and staff,” Minow added.

But one professor, who requested to remain anonymous to maintain relations with the Law School, said that Kagan’s tense relations with staff provide clues to how she may conduct herself as a justice.

“The treatment of subordinates is definitely relevant to her values and our assessment of her as a progressive justice,” the professor said, adding that Kagan’s prowess as a “consensus builder” who would be able to sway Justice Anthony Kennedy, for example, is undermined by her temper, which the professor believes may hinder her ability to work well with others on the bench.

“Justice Kennedy would not like that,” the professor said.

—Elias J. Groll contributed to the reporting of this story.

—Staff writer Zoe A. Y. Weinberg can be reached at zoe.weinberg@college.harvard.edu.