Newswise — Washington, D.C., September 4, 2024—Elise Boddie, James V. Campbell Professor of Law at the University of Michigan Law School, has been selected by AERA to present the 2024 Brown Lecture in Education Research. Her lecture, titled “Brown v. Board of Education and the Democratic Ideals,” will take place on Thursday, October 24, 6:30 p.m. ET, at Howard University in Washington, D.C., and will be livestreamed. Registration for in-person attendance and for the livestream will open in early September. The event is free and open to the public.
A prominent scholar and champion of dismantling systematic racism, Boddie bridges diverse disciplines and practices of scholarship, teaching, community, and service. Prior to joining the law faculty at the University of Michigan, Boddie taught at Rutgers Law School, where she founded and directed The Inclusion Project. In that capacity, she worked with students, faith leaders, educators, the legal community, and researchers in a multisector initiative to encourage the creation of equitable education systems in New Jersey public schools.
In 2021, President Biden appointed Boddie to the Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States. Boddie also served as the principal deputy assistant attorney general in the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. She is an elected member of the American Law Institute and is also an American Bar Foundation Fellow.
“As we commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Brown ruling this year at Howard University, Professor Boddie’s public policy and legal expertise will provide an exceptionally relevant perspective on the legacy of the decision,” said AERA Executive Director Felice J. Levine. “We are excited to hear from such an accomplished scholar who is committed to undoing systems that drive racial inequity.”
Boddie previously was the director of litigation for the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund Inc. and has served in leadership positions on the boards of the American Constitution Society and the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice. Her work is widely cited and discussed in academic and nonacademic circles. Her commentary has been published in the New York Times, the Washington Post, Salon, Slate, and the Huffington Post, among other news outlets. She has appeared in national and international news programs, including a BBC documentary, The Black American Fight for Freedom.
Boddie received her B.A. in economics and political science with honors from Yale University and her J.D. with honors from Harvard Law School. She holds a master’s degree in public policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government.
The Brown Lecture, now in its 21st year, was inaugurated by AERA in 2004 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education decision, in which the U.S. Supreme Court took scientific research into account in issuing its landmark ruling ending legal racial segregation in public schools.
The 2024 Brown Lecture Selection Committee included AERA Social Justice Action Committee Chair James Anderson (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign), AERA President Janelle Scott (University of California, Berkeley), AERA Past President Tyrone Howard (University of California, Los Angeles), AERA Social Justice Action Committee Member Betina Hsieh (University of Washington), AERA Social Justice Action Committee Member Stephen Hancock (North Carolina A&T), AERA Executive Director Felice J. Levine, and AERA Diversity Officer George L. Wimberly.
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About AERA
The American Educational Research Association (AERA) is the largest national interdisciplinary research association devoted to the scientific study of education and learning. Founded in 1916, AERA advances knowledge about education, encourages scholarly inquiry related to education, and promotes the use of research to improve education and serve the public good. Find AERA on Facebook, X, LinkedIn, Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky.
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