Associate Dean Jeffrey A. Dodge serves as featured speaker at Current Challenges Facing Refugees and Immigrants event

CARLISLE, PA—On Tuesday, April 21, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Jeffrey A. Dodge served as a featured speaker for the Current Challenges Facing Refugees and Immigrants event organized by the International Service Center (ISC) in partnership with the Medical-Legal Partnership Clinic. Dodge delivered the closing remarks for the event based on his past involvement with the ISC.

In 2021, Dodge worked with the Penn State Dickinson Law community to aid Afghan evacuees settling in central Pennsylvania. What began as a drive for toiletry items to donate to evacuees evolved into Penn State Dickinson Law students helping individuals and families fill out immigration forms. Students gained valuable experience working directly with people in the same way they will when they represent clients while also meeting the needs of new Afghan neighbors.

Dodge's closing remarks focused on the power and impact of volunteers and the necessity to support our collective humanity in the name of advancing democracy. The remarks drew on Dodge's recent scholarship on attempts to erode K-12 instruction and support for empathy as a human and societal value.

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.