DICKINSON LAW DEAN AND PROFESSOR OF LAW NAMED TO LAWYERS OF COLOR POWER LIST
February 2020 — Danielle M. Conway, dean and Donald J. Farage Professor of Law, Penn State Dickinson Law, was named to Lawyers of Color's Power List by the Lawyers of Color Foundation—a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting diversity in the legal profession and advancing democracy and equality in marginalized communities.
The Power List recognizes the most influential minority attorneys and allies in the nation. General counsel, managing partners, and law school deans as well as legal media and nonprofit leaders compose the Lawyers of Colors fifth Power List. Additionally, the largest 350 law firms were surveyed and provided Lawyers of Color with the names of their attorneys of color who were managing partners or management committee members.
“As the first person of color and first woman to serve as dean of Dickinson Law, I am humbled to be among this year’s honorees,” said Conway. “Most important, I am proud to be aligned with organizations such as Lawyers of Color that share Dickinson Law’s mission to expand the diversity pipeline.”
Prior to her deanship at Dickinson Law, Conway—a leading expert in procurement law, entrepreneurship, and intellectual property law—served for four years as dean of the University of Maine School of Law where she launched the successful Maine Law PreLaw Undergraduate Scholars Program, now in its fourth year. The goal of the PreLaw Undergraduate Scholars Program is to bring more diversity to the legal profession in Maine and around the country. She also served for 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. Before joining Maine Law, she 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 La Trobe University, Faculty of Law & Management.
At Dickinson Law, Conway continues her commitment to promoting diversity in the legal profession with the positioning of Dickinson Law as host to the Council on Legal Education Opportunity (CLEO) 2020 Pre-Law Summer Institute.
In 2016, Conway retired from the U.S. Army in the rank of lieutenant colonel after 27 years of combined active, reserve, and national guard service.
Recently, Conway received the John Mercer Langston Legal Education Leadership Award during the 15th Annual National Black Pre-Law Conference and Law Fair in Washington, D.C.
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.