Penn State Dickinson Law Dean Danielle M. Conway wraps up productive summer of scholarship and strengthening connections

CARLISLE AND UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.—Each summer, Penn State Dickinson Law Dean and Donald J. Farage Professor of Law Danielle M. Conway engages in research, reflection, and writing to further her leadership and scholarship. She also uses her time to create and strengthen relationships in support of Penn State Dickinson Law’s program of legal education.

This summer, that period of respite included a visit to Ghana, where she met with two law school deans; publication of a new article in the University of the Pacific Law Review; and attendance at both the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) Executive Committee Retreat and the American Bar Association Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar (ABA-SLEAB)/AALS Deans’ Week in New York City.

As the current president-elect of AALS, Conway also used the time to engage with research and scholarship that helped to inform her vision for her presidency. These activities energized her in preparation to continue the critical work being done at Penn State Dickinson Law.

“Many people mistakenly assume members of a law school’s faculty and administration grade their last papers and head off to play for the rest of the summer. That is not what we do,” said Conway. “Summer offers space for staff, faculty, and administrators to reflect and refine our approach to legal education. We can then come back rejuvenated and refreshed to engage in this scholarly leadership, or, as I call it, praxis leadership.”

A joyous visit to Ghana

Conway and her family visit Ghana each summer to see and reconnect with her husband’s family. This year, Conway also used her time to connect with the administrations of two Ghanaian law schools—connections forged through Penn State.

Dr. Francis Achampong, who retired from his position as Penn State Mont Alto chancellor in 2024, grew up in Ghana and attended the University of Ghana. He happened to be in the country at the same time as the dean and her family, and he introduced Conway to Peter Atudiwe Atupare, who is the dean of the University of Ghana School of Law.

Conway also met with Julia Selman-Ayetey, the University of Cape Coast dean of the Faculty of Law and the first woman to hold that position. They were connected by Nana-Anna Abaka-Cann ’23 LL.M., who attended both schools and recognized the potential benefits of introducing the two leaders of institutions she loved.

“We had a wonderful time at these meetings sharing our successes and challenges as deans,” said Conway. They discussed perspectives on universal concerns in higher education, such as institutional core values, interdisciplinary education and partnerships, marketing and communications efforts, the value of branding, and more. Conway came away considering future areas of collaboration.

“Last year, we brought a delegation of staff, faculty, and alumni on a study trip to Singapore, where we engaged with law schools and members of the public and private sectors to ideate new approaches for teaching and learning and to build new networks. I could envision doing the same in Ghana,” said Conway.

Authoring ‘Leadership and Antiracism in Legal Education’

The summer also gave Conway an opportunity to complete her article “Leadership and Antiracism in Legal Education,” which the University of the Pacific Law Review published in June. This scholarly work is tied to Conway’s role as executive director of Penn State Dickinson Law’s Antiracist Development Institute, which she founded in 2021.

The ADI is shepherding a 10-volume book series entitled Building an Antiracist Law School, Legal Academy, and Legal Profession, being published by the University of California Press. Conway envisions the article as the thematic kernel of the series. The article notes, “Embedding antiracism in the teaching and learning that occur in law schools will signal to higher education the commitment to building and sustaining democratic institutions that promote critical thinking and the capacity to reason and engage peacefully in the face of difference, disagreement, and dissent.”

The time away assisted Conway with her writing and editing process. “This space away from my administrative duties became conducive to antiracism theorizing. I found it invaluable to have blocks of time to think, research, and write in an environment where others were asking similar questions and exploring similar themes. This helped me complete the law review article,” said Conway. “This article and others like it are the way that I stay in conversation with colleagues who are experts in their respective disciplines. It reflects my commitment to be in conversation with colleagues as well as to the act of producing and disseminating ideas and knowledge.

“It is also an appropriate time for me to thank Penn State Dickinson Law research assistants Shanell Powell ‘27 and George Alemya Ayine ’26 for their contributions to confirming and documenting the sources that support the expression of ideas in the article.

Attending the AALS Executive Committee Retreat

In January, Conway was named president-elect of AALS, the nonprofit whose member schools enroll most of the country’s law students and produce the majority of the country’s attorneys and judges. Each president develops a theme for their one-year term, and Conway workshopped hers during the Executive Committee Retreat in June. She also discussed thematic ideas for the 2027 AALS Annual Meeting.

Conway appreciated the candor of colleagues in the legal academy who have aided her with polishing her theme and who offered valuable feedback to sharpen its focus.

“This critical time over the summer allowed me to focus and concentrate on praxis, which informs my theory and practice for leading while also developing scholarship. I do this because I take seriously my role as a dean for scholarly leaders. By publishing articles and participating in events within the legal academy, I remain in continuous conversation with scholarly leaders,” said Conway.

Participating in Deans’ Week

Conway then shared expertise gained from a decade of deanship during an event held by the ABA-SLEAB and AALS. The annual Deans’ Week encourages peer-to-peer dialogue and mentoring while addressing major substantive leadership and management issues for deans.

Conway served on a panel titled “Law Deans as Builders of the Profession,” which focused on navigating diversity in law schools and ensuring access to legal education and justice. Her article offered timely tie-ins with those issues, and the time with others in the legal academy delivered some final inspiration before the start of the new academic year.

“During these summer months, I model what I ask my colleagues to do in terms of preparing for and conducting scholarly conversations,” said Conway. “If I do not dedicate the time or bandwidth to focus on those scholarly discussions, I do not believe I could be fully present for colleagues. At the same time, colleagues inspire me with the scholarship they produce. It is a wonderful balance, and I look forward to beginning another year with these esteemed colleagues.”