Top row (left to right): Stephen Bainbridge, Devon Carbado, Kimberlé Crenshaw, Scott Cummings and Ingrid Eagly. Middle row (left to right): Cheryl Harris, Rick Hasen, Jerry Kang, Joanna Schwartz and Adam Winkler. Bottom row (left to right): Russell Korobkin, Kal Raustiala and Lindsay Wiley
Top row (left to right): Stephen Bainbridge, Devon Carbado, Kimberlé Crenshaw, Scott Cummings, Ingrid Eagly. Middle row: Cheryl Harris, Rick Hasen, Jerry Kang, Joanna Schwartz, Adam Winkler. Bottom row: Russell Korobkin, Kal Raustiala, Lindsay Wiley

In the latest study to measure the impact of law school faculties based on their research and writing, 14 UCLA School of Law professors have been recognized as leaders of legal scholarship.

Kimberlé Crenshaw - Photo credit: Melissa Blackall
Photo credit: Melissa Blackall

UCLA School of Law distinguished professor Kimberlé Crenshaw, one of the nation’s most renowned scholars and thought leaders in civil rights law and policy, has received the W.E.B. Du Bois Medal from the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research at Harvard University.

Glenn H. Hutchins, Kimberlé Crenshaw, Professor Guy-Uriel Charles and Henry Louis Gates Jr. Photo credit: Melissa Blackall
From left: Glenn H. Hutchins, Kimberlé Crenshaw, Professor Guy-Uriel Charles and Henry Louis Gates Jr. Photo credit: Melissa Blackall

At the Oct. 1 awards ceremony, Crenshaw recounted her participation in student protests when she attended Harvard Law School. She told the audience of more than 300 academics, alumni and students to stand up against institutional attacks on knowledge and education. “We have to fight against the selective use of ‘comfort’ to suppress uncomfortable conversations,” she said.

Crenshaw holds the Promise Institute Chair in Human Rights at UCLA Law. She is known for coining the term “intersectionality” — the way in which the effects of racism, sexism and other forms of discrimination combine and overlap to create unique experiences. She is also a founder and leader of critical race theory. In 2000, she was one of the faculty members who launched UCLA Law’s trailblazing Critical Race Studies program.

As the co-founder and executive director of the African American Policy Forum think tank, Crenshaw has led grassroots movements and campaigns such as #SayHerName, the Freedom to Learn Network and the Critical Race Theory Summer School.


An earlier version of this story ran in the UCLA Newsroom.

September 30, 2024 12:15 PM - 1:30 PM
Presented by: Alliance of Formerly Incarcerated and System Impacted Students, American Constitution Society, and the Critical Race Studies Program.

What happens when a prison abolitionist runs for judge in Texas? Former Judge Franklin Bynum of Harris County, Texas (the third-largest county in the United States) found out in 2019, when he won a position as judge of the Harris County Criminal Court. Judge Bynum led the effort to implement sweeping bail reform, effectively ending cash bail for misdemeanors in Houston and eliminating racialdisparity in pretrial release. The resulting change in the dismissal and conviction rates makes the reform effort one of the largest and most successful decarceration efforts in the country. 
Join Judge Bynum in conversation with Professor Gerloni Cotton for a discussion about his path to the bench and the data-driven case for leveraging judicial power for systemic change.
RSVP here for free food!


September 12, 2024 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM

The Williams Institute's 2024 NYC Fall Salon will take place on Thursday, September 12 from 6:00-8:30 PM at the Meta office in Hudson Yards.

We invite you to join our discussion on the current state of LGBTQ+ law and policy and what’s at stake in the upcoming November election and beyond.
 
For tickets to our 2024 NYC Fall Salon, please visit: https://bit.ly/NYCFallSalon24RSVP ends on September 4, 2024.
 

For more information, please contact Williamsdev@law.ucla.edu.

Richard L. Hasen, Jerry Kang, Angela R. Riley, Alex Wang
Richard L. Hasen, Jerry Kang, Angela R. Riley, Alex Wang

Four UCLA School of Law professors, including leading scholars in election law, critical race studies, Native American law, and U.S.-China relations, have received appointments to endowed faculty chairs.

Faculty chairs acknowledge the distinction of the law school’s outstanding professors and are made possible by the generosity of UCLA Law’s alumni and friends. UCLA Law has 70 full-time faculty members and 39 endowed chairs.

Yvette Borja smiles
Yvette Borja is the Critical Race Studies program's inaugural Laura E. Gómez Teaching Fellow.

A historic one-million dollar gift from Alicia Miñana de Lovelace (J.D. ’87; co-chair of the UCLA Second Century Council) celebrated, along with a symposium and reception, the remarkable career and recent retirement of CRS co-founder Laura E. Gómez, UCLA’s Rachel F.

Donna Cox Wells (left) and Chase Griffin. Photo credit: Trever Ducote/UCLA
Donna Cox Wells (left) and Chase Griffin. Photo credit: Trever Ducote/UCLA

Two distinguished members of the UCLA School of Law community – Donna Cox Wells ’92 and Chase Griffin M.L.S. ’24 – are among the distinguished graduates who were honored with UCLA Awards by the UCLA Alumni Association for their extraordinary achievements, leadership and contributions to the university, their communities and the world.

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