DICKINSON LAW’S BEKAH SAIDMAN-KRAUSS LEADS PLANNING FOR SUCCESSFUL LAW SCHOOL ADMISSION COUNCIL (LSAC) ANNUAL MEETING, EARNS ELECTION TO LSAC BOARD OF TRUSTEES
July 2024 — When Bekah Saidman-Krauss, associate dean for admissions and financial aid at Penn State Dickinson Law, agreed to chair the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) 2024 Annual Meeting Planning Work Group, she knew she was making a significant commitment. She did not know that she would have so much fun.
Over a six-month span, she chaired Work Group meetings that felt more like social engagements, led outreach efforts that netted new friendships, and conducted a high-profile, on-stage interview with teacher, author, and LGBT+ activist Chasten Buttigieg. Saidman-Krauss’s team, culled from law schools nationwide, put on a successful Annual Meeting while also having a great time.
“I don’t think any Annual Meeting Planning Work Group has ever had as much fun as we did,” said Saidman-Krauss. For example, the informal theme of this year’s meeting, held in Scottsdale, Arizona, was disco in the desert. Monthly Work Group Zoom meetings often began with a disco song, the group held a “best disco outfit” costume contest, and they choreographed a group dance number to “Dancing Queen” performed during the Meeting’s final night.
Of course, all the fun was for the greater concern of creating an impactful event. The LSAC Annual Meeting and Educational Conference, held May 29 to June 1 at the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess, draws more than 500 attendees annually from the country’s roughly 200 law schools. Members of the Annual Meeting Work Group develop the education program and session formats, select speakers, prepare session descriptions, define educational outcomes, organize and help speakers prepare their presentations, and moderate sessions they coordinate.
“My goal was to have a program with concurrent sessions so appealing that it would be hard for people to choose which session they wanted to attend,” said Saidman-Krauss. “I think we achieved that.” She noted that this year’s meeting drew more than 600 people, an all-time high in recent history.
While Saidman-Krauss’s tenure as Work Group chair ended, she is increasing her involvement with LSAC. At the meeting, she was elected to serve on the LSAC Board of Trustees for a three-year term.
“Bekah is a leader for this important time. Legal education is transforming in significant ways. Bekah ensures we have our eyes set on innovation while at the same time keeping our feet anchored into a landscape that is changing at a record pace,” said Dickinson Law Dean and Donald J. Farage Professor of Law Danielle M. Conway. “And that means she is our barometer for stretching to new heights for achieving untold success because she has such a keen understanding of what needs to happen to make sure we have a pathway for people to enter the legal profession who are set on doing justice and creating equity at every turn.”
Months of planning and decision-making
Saidman-Krauss recently completed her 11th year at Dickinson Law and has attended the LSAC Annual Meeting each year. “The conference is always chock-full of a range of educational programming and social activities, and it is also a great opportunity to connect — or reconnect — with friends and colleagues who work in this world in various capacities,” said Saidman-Krauss. “The content has expanded and remains responsive to our world.”
She volunteered to serve on the Work Group that planned the 2023 Annual Meeting and, when that event concluded, she was asked to chair this year’s Work Group. The first thing she did was discuss the opportunity with Conway. “I asked if she was comfortable with it because serving as Working Group chair represents somewhat of a time commitment. Dean Conway encouraged me to take on this leadership role because she fully supports opportunities for professional growth, network building, and involvement in service organizations, in particular with LSAC,” said Saidman-Krauss.
The Work Group of a dozen, plus several LSAC staff members, met in Scottsdale last November to scope out the meeting location and facilities and begin brainstorming session ideas. Incorporating feedback from surveys about the 2023 meeting, they built the program and reached out to presenters, holding monthly Zoom meetings (with the fun soundtracks) to check in. Saidman-Krauss’s main duty was ensuring everyone met deadlines and submitted deliverables.
“We put in a lot of good work in the months leading up to Annual Meeting. When we arrived in Scottsdale in May, everything was planned and perfect. We could just be present and relish the fruits of our labor,” said Saidman-Krauss.
She was one of several Dickinson Law faculty and staff members to attend the meeting, including Professor of Law, Lewis H. Vovakis Distinguished Faculty Scholar, and Associate Dean for Antiracism and Critical Pedagogy Shaakirrah Sanders; Admissions Officer Kristin Thomas; Director of Admissions & Financial Aid Rebecca Schreiber; and TaWanda Hunter Stallworth, program manager for Dickinson Law’s Antiracist Development Institute (ADI).
Learning new things
Schreiber attends the LSAC Annual Meeting annually, and she enjoys connecting with fellow admissions and financial aid professionals from law schools across the country. This year, as in several past years, she presented a session, and she also zeroed in on topics she wanted to learn more about.
“I like to challenge myself to learn about new areas of admissions, like how artificial intelligence is being deployed. This year, I attended a session on the American Bar Association because I don’t engage with many of the ABA’s vast functions in my role, nor did I know much about its governance,” said Schreiber. “There are good opportunities to network all week as well. You can bounce ideas or questions off people at other institutions. Sometimes you just need that outside perspective.”
Stallworth attended the LSAC Annual Meeting for the first time. LSAC was one of three organizations to pledge initial funding to the ADI, and Stallworth wanted to show her support and appreciation. “Those early supporters were crucial to the ADI’s development and to our mission. I am not an admissions professional myself, so it gave me a welcome chance to meet some wonderful people and participate in what they are doing,” said Stallworth. She found particular value in the “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Not So Many Words” panel, which shared a helpful resource guide with attendees culled from their survey responses.
Schreiber also enjoyed the keynote address by Bakari Sellers, an attorney, bestselling author, and former South Carolina state representative. Sellers wasn’t the only celebrity in attendance — Saidman-Krauss interviewed the aforementioned Buttigieg on the final day of the conference, which felt appropriate as it was the first day of Pride month. “That was one of my favorite parts of this year’s Annual Meeting. He is warm and incredibly inspiring,” said Saidman-Krauss. “It felt like a very meaningful way to kick off the month.”