IMPORTANT UNIVERSITY REPORT DEAN CONWAY CO-AUTHORED IS RELEASED FOR COMMENT
December 2020 — Danielle M. Conway, who is the Dean and Donald J. Farage Professor of Law at Penn State Dickinson Law, serves as Co-Chair of the Select Penn State Presidential Commission on Racism, Bias, and Community Safety. On December 3, 2020, the University released for public comment the report prepared by this Presidential Commission.
The Select Penn State Presidential Commission on Racism, Bias, and Community Safety and the Student Code of Conduct Task Force worked on a compressed schedule to develop draft recommendations in response to Penn State President Eric J. Barron’s June 10 message, which incorporated a charge to help address both immediate and longstanding problems of racism, bias, and intolerance inside and outside of the University. Dean Conway played an instrumental role in leading the drafting of the Select Commission’s important report. The Commission’s Report outlines four recommendations:
- Develop, promote, and support truth and reconciliation [through a process that, for example,] “would allow for the collection of information about historic and current policies and practices linked to racial and ethnic harm, intimidation, and harassment;”
- Develop, promote, and support research, teaching, and learning that advance antiracist scholarship, pedagogy, and culture;
- Develop, promote, and support University-wide onboarding, mentorship, auditing, and the continuing development of students, staff, faculty, and administrative leadership through use of equitable and inclusive practices and procedures; and
- Develop, promote, and support accountability in implementing and sustaining an equitable and inclusive campus culture.
The foundation of the Commission’s recommendations rests on an “enterprise approach,” in which all diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts are integrated and synchronized across the entire University in a coherent manner. According to the draft report, the goal is to create diversity, equity, and inclusion policies, practices, and initiatives that are more intentional and cohesive. Dean Conway stated: “While there remains much work to be done to implement the recommendations in the report, I am proud to have been part of building a structure that will guide the next phase of that work.” Dean Conway participated in the December 9, 2020 Town Hall that provided the University community with an opportunity to discuss the report.
Dean Conway has observed that the leadership challenge assigned to her by President Barron came on the heels of the Penn State Dickinson Law faculty resolution and staff commitment, both of which sparked resolutions from other law schools and a movement in the legal academy.
Danielle M. Conway is the Dean and Donald J. Farage Professor of Law at Penn State Dickinson Law. A leading expert in procurement law, entrepreneurship, and intellectual property law, Dean Conway joined Dickinson Law after serving for four years as dean of the University of Maine School of Law and 14 years on the faculty of the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, William S. Richardson School of Law, where she was the inaugural Michael J. Marks Distinguished Professor of Business Law. Prior to her deanships, Conway was a member of the faculties at the Georgetown University Law Center and the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law. She also served as a Fulbright Senior Scholar in Australia and later as Chair in Law at LaTrobe University, Faculty of Law & Management. Dean Conway is the author or editor of six books and casebooks as well as numerous book chapters, articles, and essays. Her scholarly agenda and speeches have focused on, among other areas, advocating for public education and for actualizing the rights of marginalized groups, including Indigenous Peoples, minoritized people, and members of rural communities. Dean Conway is the co-recipient of the inaugural Association of American Law Schools’ Impact Award, which honors individuals who have had a significant positive impact on legal education or the legal profession. Dean Conway was recognized for her work in establishing the Law Deans Antiracist Clearinghouse Project. Launched in June 2020, the project is a webpage for law deans, faculty, and the public that contains resources and information related to addressing racism in law and legal education. In 2016, Dean Conway retired from the U.S. Army in the rank of lieutenant colonel after 27 years of combined active, reserve, and national guard service.