ADI provides updates on University of California Press book series

CARLISLE AND UNIVERSITY PARK, PA—The Antiracist Development Institute (ADI) at Penn State Dickinson Law recently updated the coalition of chapter contributors, editors, and systems designers on the status of the Building an Antiracist Law School, Legal Academy, and Legal Profession book series, which is being published by University of California Press (UCP) and includes contributions from more than 100 people from dozens of institutions.

At a virtual event with contributors on June 15, series editor Danielle M. Conway, the executive director of the ADI and the dean and Donald J. Farage Professor of Law at Penn State Dickinson Law and the School of International Affairs, joined ADI Program Manager TaWanda Hunter Stallworth and UCP Executive Editor Maura Roessner to discuss the progress made on the series, publication dates, and other recent project developments.

The book series was initiated with a virtual chapter contributor conference in the summer of 2022, shortly after Conway launched the ADI to dismantle structures that scaffold systemic racial inequality. The ADI and the book series use systems design and critical pedagogy frameworks to advance institutional antiracism.

All 10 books in the series are now under contract with UCP for publication.

“I want to say thank you so much to all the chapter contributors, systems designers, and volume editors who have put so much time, care, and heart into every volume,” said Conway. “In each chapter, the writing is beautiful, and the research is fabulous. I am so thrilled by the work you have done.”

Stallworth outlined the production and publication schedule for the series. The first three books—Antiracist Gateways to the Legal Profession, Antiracist Curriculum Development, and Antiracist Teaching and Learning—will publish in early 2027, coinciding with the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) annual meeting. Conway is the president of AALS and will preside at the meeting with her chosen theme of “Emancipate. Academic. Freedom.”

Stallworth praised contributors for their dedication and engagement throughout the publishing process. “This event reminds me of our chapter contributor conference back in 2022, when we first came together, and the Zoom room filled with eager folks looking to contribute to this amazing project. This project remains amazing because of all of you,” said Stallworth.

The second batch of books, Antiracist Academic Success and the Bar Exam and Antiracist Admissions, will publish in mid-2027. Batch three (Antiracism and the Law, Antiracist Leadership, and Antiracist Financial Aid) is scheduled to publish in early 2028, and the final two volumes, Antiracist Career Services and the Legal Profession and Antiracist Alumni Affairs and Advancement, are scheduled to publish in mid-2028.

A true coalition of contributors

Roessner noted that the series is ambitious in its scope and participation. Each 60,000-word volume offers an in-depth examination of the antiracist approach to a specific aspect of legal education. The book series coalition includes more than 120 colleagues from the legal academy, legal profession, and adjacent organizations, representing 76 institutions across the country.

Each editor and chapter contributor received training in design thinking, guiding them through a critical examination of law schools by their constituent parts or functions to identify embedded inequities.

Volume editors and contributors held months of virtual and in-person meetings to discuss their topics, strengthening each other's arguments by applying a systems design rubric to provide feedback and encourage discussion.

Roessner shared details on where each volume currently stands in the editing process, which takes about 18 months from delivery of the first draft through publication. She congratulated attendees on their achievement.

“It has been an incredible endeavor and a labor of love in lifting up work that is so incredibly essential and becoming more essential day by day. The stakes could not be higher, and I appreciate every last one of you,” said Roessner.

The book series will be the focus of a workshop at the ADI’s Fourth Annual Convening, taking place in University Park, PA, on October 7–9.