Stacy Leeds, a graduate of the William H. Hastie Fellowship program, was named dean of the University of Arkansas School of Law.   Leeds, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, becomes the first American Indian woman to serve as a dean of a law school.

From 1998-2000, Leeds served as a fellow in the William H. Hastie Fellowship program, where she received her master of laws degree and started her teaching career.   The program provides an opportunity for lawyers of color to prepare for a career in law teaching.  Leeds remarks, "The Hastie Fellowship, as Jim Jones envisioned it, was the key to my entry into law teaching.  The extensive UW Hastie community has mentored me throughout every stage of my career."

Leeds’ nationally recognized scholarship has focused on property, natural resources, and American Indian Law.  Additionally, she has served as a judge for many tribes, including the Cherokee Nation, where she was the only woman as well as the youngest person to ever serve as a Supreme Court Justice.    At the Kansas School of Law, she served as interim associate dean for academic affairs and as director of the Tribal Law and Government Center.

Program Director Professor Peter Carstensen remarked, “The Hastie Fellowship is a durable part of Wisconsin's commitment to achieving diversity.  Stacy Leeds typifies the kind of person whom the Fellowship can help propel into a distinguished academic career.  She has already achieved an outstanding reputation as a scholar and teacher.  She is now the second Hastie Fellow to be selected as a law school dean.  The Program takes great pride in her achievements.”

Learn More About the Hastie Program

To learn more about Stacy Leeds, read the University of Arkansas Press Release

Submitted by Law School News on June 20, 2011

This article appears in the categories: Articles