Legal Education Leadership 2026: Dean Conway's Monthly AALS Presidential Update for March

A monthly look at Penn State Dickinson Law and School of International Affairs Dean and Donald J. Farage Professor of Law Danielle M. Conway’s year of intellectual inquiry as president of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS).

AALS president Danielle M. Conway spent a busy March lecturing at several prestigious venues and publishing her scholarship. At Penn State Dickinson Law, she welcomed newly admitted students during special events held in Carlisle and University Park and celebrated the recipients of the Rambo Awards.

She began the month by co-organizing and co-leading a panel at the International Tech & IP Disputes Exchange (I-TIDE) 2026 seminars in New York and San Francisco, which drew participants from over 50 countries to examine how artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping technology and IP disputes.

Conway delivered the plenary session keynote address at the University of Nebraska’s Women Lead Conference in early March. Later in the month, she spoke on a deans panel at Howard University School of Law, facilitated workshops on design thinking, and gave the keynote address at St. John's University School of Law's 2026 Anti-Racism Day: A Century of Law, A Future of Justice.

Conway also published an essay in the Virginia Journal of Law & Technology tied to an upcoming appearance on a symposium panel.

I-TIDE 2026 Seminar

With the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore and World Intellectual Property Organization Arbitration and Mediation Center, Penn State Dickinson Law co-presented this program drawing global leaders from across the AI industry to discuss significant legal challenges sparked by the growing adoption of AI in areas like copyright infringement, patent eligibility, and trade secret protection.

Conway, a leading expert in intellectual property law, delivered the closing remarks during the first day of the seminar on March 3 in New York City.

woman looking to her left at a table with other people

Women Lead Conference

Conway received a standing ovation for her address at the Women Lead Conference, titled “The Indispensability of Women in Law and Business: From the Declaration of Sentiments through the Reconstruction and Nineteenth Amendments to the 250th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.” Her remarks centered women as important catalysts for the project of building a just society, although they are often unacknowledged and uncelebrated in this work.

Conway, who was invited by University of Nebraska College of Law Dean Richard Moberly and College of Business Dean Kathy Farrell, also attended sessions and met students at the sold-out conference.

woman at a podium with slides behind her

Howard University School of Law

Conway returned to Howard University School of Law, her alma mater, on March 17 for the “Dean’s Fireside Chat with Howard Law Alumni.” Other distinguished guests included Widener University Commonwealth Law School Dean andré douglas pond cummings, Northern Illinois University College of Law Dean Cassandra L. Hill, and Cooley Law School Dean James McGrath.

Their lively discussion touched on how their experience at Howard impacted the way they lead today and included reflections on their mentors during law school. Following the panel, Conway and the other deans answered questions from students.

Albany Law School

Conway joined Penn State Dickinson Law’s Antiracist Development Institute (ADI), which she founded and where she serves as executive director, for the first of two design thinking workshops presented in New York during March.

Albany Law School Dean Cinnamon P. Carlarne and Associate Dean for Inclusive Excellence and Enrollment Management Jermaine Cruz invited the ADI to facilitate a design thinking workshop led by Conway and available to staff, administrators, faculty, and other community leaders from schools and organizations throughout the Capital Region.

woman stands in front of classroom teaching — Penn State Dickinson Law Dean and Donald J. Farage Professor of Law Danielle M. Conway presents a design thinking workshop at Albany Law School.

three women sitting in front of a classroom — Penn State Dickinson Law Dean and Donald J. Farage Professor of Law Danielle M. Conway, Albany Law School Dean Cinnamon P. Carlarne, and ADI Associate Director Jill C. Engle field questions during a design thinking workshop at Albany Law School.

Four people standing in front of a classroom — Penn State Dickinson Law Dean and Donald J. Farage Professor of Law Danielle M. Conway, ADI Associate Director Jill C. Engle, Albany Law School Dean Cinnamon P. Carlarne, and Associate Dean for Inclusive Excellence and Enrollment Management Jermaine Cruz.

St. John's University School of Law

Next, Conway and the ADI visited St. John’s University School of Law for two days of programming at the invitation of Dean Jelani Jefferson Exum and Assistant Dean for Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Vernadette Horne.

Conway again led a design thinking workshop open to St. John’s colleagues from across the New York City region. She also delivered a keynote, titled “Design Thinking as a Method to Build and Sustain Coalitions Practicing Antiracism,” for the law school’s 2026 Anti-Racism Day: A Century of Law, A Future of Justice.

three Black women in front of a classroom — St. John's University School of Law Dean Jelani Jefferson Exum, Penn State Dickinson Law Dean and Donald J. Farage Professor of Law Danielle M. Conway, and Assistant Dean for Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Vernadette Horne.

Black woman walks through an audience of law students

Black woman stands at front of a large study hall lecturing

Five women pose in a classroom — Members of the ADI team pose at St. John's University School of Law.

Two Black women pose with a banner — St. John's University School of Law Dean Jelani Jefferson Exum and Penn State Dickinson Law Dean and Donald J. Farage Professor of Law Danielle M. Conway

Dean Conway’s recently published scholarship

In advance of April’s Intellectual Property Rights in Government Contracting Symposium at the University of Virginia School of Law on April 17, Conway published an essay titled “A Look Back on the Foundations of Government Procurement of Intellectual Property in the New Era of ‘America First IP’ Ideology, Policy, and Legislation” in the Virginia Journal of Law and Technology.

The piece examines the Bayh Dole Act as well as global perspectives on government procurement of intellectual property (IP) before providing an in-depth discussion of the impact of the "America First IP" regime, noting that the ideology's weaponization of government procurement of IP legislation and regulations "is the antithesis of sound government procurement policy."

Read February's Update Read January's Update