Associate Dean Dodge publishes timely article on Obergefell

CARLISLE, Pa.—Associate Dean Jeffrey A. Dodge recently published the article "The Unfulfilled Promise of Obergefell for Children of LGBTQ+ Parents: Advancing Nondiscrimination Law for Familial Association." The article came from a symposium held earlier this year.

In March 2025, the Northern Kentucky Law Review hosted "Obergefell v. Hodges: Ten Years Later." The event brought together both plaintiffs and respondents for the landmark case as well as their attorneys. Academic experts in matters related to family building and reproductive rights, the First Amendment and Equal Protection Clause, and civil rights also gathered at Northern Kentucky University for engaging conversations on the future of Obergefell. The symposium attracted hundreds of attendees and high-profile attention.

The Northern Kentucky Law Review published articles and essays from that symposium in two issues: volume 52, issues 1 and 2. Issue 1 includes Dodge’s article, which calls for the amendment of the Equality Act to expand the definition of sex discrimination to include familial association. He argues that such an amendment would further the call for protecting the dignity of children of LGBTQ+ parents by offering tangible nondiscrimination protections.

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 Admission Council, as an American Bar Association accreditation site evaluator, and as a three-time director of the CLEO Pre-Law Summer Institute.