Professor Deo presents at Michigan Law School Symposium

October 13, 2014

Professor Meera Deo was a featured speaker at the recent University of Michigan Law School Symposium celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the Michigan Journal of Race & Law. She returned to Ann Arbor to join Michigan Law School alumni from around the country participating in the Symposium. One of the highlights of the event was the keynote speech by Michigan Law School alumna and President Clinton’s Civil Rights Commission Chairperson Mary Frances Berry. Professor Deo presented “Trajectory of a Law Professor,” an Article drawing from her Diversity in Legal Academia (DLA) project revealing barriers to entry and advancement for non-traditional law faculty.

DLA is the first, formal, empirical study of legal academics, utilizing an intersectional lens to investigate how race and gender affect the law faculty experience. As the Principal Investigator of DLA, Professor Deo is responsible for all aspects of the study, from data collection through coding, analysis, and dissemination. She is currently analyzing the data and disseminating findings through presentations around the country and publications in leading law journals.

“I enjoyed a wonderful reunion in Ann Arbor with a community of like-minded law teachers,” says Professor Deo. “I am so proud of my participation in the Journal and the incredible scholarship that it continues to produce. It was especially gratifying to reunite with some of my favorite Michigan Law School professors.”

The event took place on Friday, September 19 in Ann Arbor, MI. Professor Deo flew there directly from a separate invited presentation to the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law, which took place the day before.  In addition to these two presentations, she also shared DLA findings with members the South Asian Bar Association of Los Angeles on September 25 and is scheduled to present again at the UCLA Critical Race Studies Symposium on October 5.