ASSOCIATE DEAN JEFFREY A. DODGE ATTENDS FAMILY LAW SCHOLARS AND TEACHERS CONFERENCE
June 2024 — Associate Dean Jeffrey A. Dodge recently attended the Family Law Scholars and Teachers Conference hosted at the University of Baltimore School of Law. At the conference, he shared a work-in-progress paper titled “The Unfilled Promise of Obergefell for Children of LGBTQ+ Parents: Advancing Nondiscrimination Laws for Familial Association.” The paper outlines the need for a federal nondiscrimination statute to protect children of LGBTQ+ parents and argues that the Equality Act is ripe for amendment to include familial association. In addition to presenting the paper, Associate Dean Dodge participated in the “Teaching Show and Tell” program in which he shared a bit about his “Ripped from the Headlines” assessment and use of NearPod technology in the Family Law course.
The Family Law Scholars and Teachers Conference allows family law scholars to receive detailed, constructive feedback on their work in a supportive and collegial environment. Scholars present their work, either in its very initial form in an incubator session or in its more developed form in a work-in-progress session. The conference also offers a forum to meet other family law scholars to talk about teaching, service, developments in the law, and other relevant themes.
Jeffrey A. Dodge, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Assistant Professor of Law and Joseph H. Goldstein Faculty Scholar at Penn State Dickinson Law, has spent nearly 20 years in legal education. Dean Dodge has broad experience overseeing law school and University-level offices of student services, international programs, admissions, academic success, career services, and more. He has taught and presented on topics in the fields of family law, education law, international human rights, and LGBTQ+ inequality. His scholarship focuses on the intersection of educational access and minoritized communities. Dean Dodge is past chair of the Association of American Law Schools Student Services, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Issues, and International Legal Exchange sections. He has served on the national diversity committee of the Law School Admissions Council, as an American Bar Association accreditation site evaluator, and a three time director of the CLEO Pre-Law Summer Institute.