Danielle M. Conway

Danielle M. Conway is the dean and Donald J. Farage professor of law at Penn State Dickinson Law and the School of International Affairs. A leading expert in procurement law, entrepreneurship, intellectual property law, and licensing intellectual property, Dean Conway joined Dickinson Law after serving for four years as dean of the University of Maine School of Law and 14 years on the faculty of the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa, William S. Richardson School of Law, where she was the inaugural Michael J. Marks Distinguished Professor of Business Law.

Prior to her deanships, Dean Conway was a member of the faculties at the Georgetown University Law Center and the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law. She also served as a Fulbright Senior Scholar in Australia and later as Chair in Law at LaTrobe University, Faculty of Law & Management in Australia. Dean Conway is the author or editor of six books and casebooks as well as numerous book chapters, articles, and essays. Her scholarly agenda and speeches have focused on, among other areas, advocating for public education and for actualizing the rights of marginalized groups, including Indigenous Peoples, minoritized people, and members of rural communities. Dean Conway’s most recent publication focuses on different aspects of building an antiracist law school, legal academy, and legal profession through leadership, vision priorities, and transformational diversity, equity, and inclusion-focused admissions and faculty and staff recruitment and retention.

Dean Conway is the co-recipient of the inaugural Association of American Law Schools’ (AALS) Impact Award, which honors individuals who have had a significant, positive impact on legal education or the legal profession. Dean Conway received this recognition for her work in establishing the Law Deans Antiracist Clearinghouse Project. Launched in June 2020, the project is a webpage for law deans, faculty and staff, and the public that contains resources and information related to addressing racism in law and legal education. Dean Conway also serves as one of three co-chairs of the Select Penn State Presidential Commission on Racism, Bias, and Community Safety.

Dean Conway earned her bachelor’s degree from New York University Stern School of Business, double majoring in finance and international business. She earned her J.D. degree, with honors, from the Howard University School of Law, where she graded on to the Howard Law Journal and served on the leadership board of the National Moot Court Team. She holds dual LL.M. degrees in Government Procurement Law and Environmental Law from the George Washington University Law School. She has been admitted to the bars in the District of Columbia, Hawai’i, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.

In January 2025, Dean Conway was named President-Elect of Association of American Law Schools (AALS). Dean Conway has been a member of the American Law Institute since 2004. She is an appointed member of the AALS Executive Committee, appointed to the Board of Directors of AccessLex Institute, and an appointed member of both the Pennsylvania Bar Association COVID-19 Task Force and the Joint Task Force on Continuity of Legal Services. In 2016, Dean Conway retired from the U.S. Army in the rank of lieutenant colonel after 27 years of combined active, reserve, and national guard service.

Books and Book Series

BUILDING AN ANTIRACIST LAW SCHOOL, LEGAL ACADEMY, AND LEGAL PROFESSION (forthcoming UC Press)

Transnational Intellectual Property Law (2d ed. West Publishers 2022)

Survey of the United States Government Contracts Law: Policy, Principles, and Practice (4th ed. forthcoming)

Transnational Intellectual Property Law (with Xuan-Thao Nguyen and Lateef Mtima) [West Academic]

State and Local Government Procurement (2012). [ABA]

Licensing Intellectual Property: Theory and Application (4th ed. forthcoming) (with Xuan-Thao Nguyen and Robert Gomulkiewicz) [Amazon]

Teacher’s Manual for Licensing Intellectual Property: Theory and Application (4th ed. forthcoming) (with Xuan-Thao Nguyen and Robert Gomulkiewicz) [Wolters Kluwer]

Intellectual Property, Software, and Information Licensing: Law and Practice (2006, with 2007-2017 Supplements) (2nd ed. forthcoming) (with Xuan-Thao Nguyen and Robert Gomulkiewicz).

Book Chapters and Essays

The Rise of the Collective Decanal Voice in BEYOND IMAGINATION (Mark Alexander ed., West Publishers 2022)

Additional Publications

“The Rise of the Collective Decanal Voice” in Beyond Imagination (Mark Alexander ed., West Publishers 2022)

“Higher Ed and the Policing of Memory: Why universities must help lead the battle to defend and expand critical race theory,” in The Forum

“The Miracle at Marrakesh: Doing Justice for the Blind and Visually Impaired While Changing the Culture of Norm Setting at WIPO,” in Diversity in Intellectual Property (2015) (Irene Calboli and Srividhya Ragavan) [Cambridge]

“Public Procurement’s Role in Facilitating Social Justice, Entrepreneurship, and Innovation in the Global Knowledge Economy,” in Intellectual Property, Entrepreneurship, and Social Justice (2015) (Lateef Mtima) [Edward Elgar]

“Implicit Racial and Gender Bias in Right of Publicity Cases and Intellectual Property Law Generally,” in Implicit Racial Bias Across the Law (2012) (Justin D. Levinson and Robert J. Smith) [Cambridge]

“Sustainable Procurement Policies and Practices at the State and Local Government Level,” in Greening Local Government: Legal Strategies for Promoting Sustainability, Efficiency, and Fiscal Savings (2012) (Keith H. Hirokawa and Patricia E. Salkin) [ABA]

“Hawaii Procurement Rules and Regulations,” in Guide to State Procurement: A 50-state Primer on Purchasing Laws, Processes and Procedures (2011) (Melissa Javon Copeland with G. Yaindl)

“Challenges for Oversight Over Multiple Award Task and Delivery Order Contracting: The New Frontier in Contracting Methods,” in LE CONTRÔL DES MARCHÊS PUBLICS, TOME 21, Bibliothèque de l’Institut de Recherche Juridique de la Sorbonne – André Tunc (2009) (G. Marcou, L. Foilliot-Lalliot, D.I. Gordon, S.L. Schooner, J. Schwartz, C. Yukins)

“Being All Things to All People: Expectations of and Demands on Women of Color in the Legal Academy,” in From Oppression to Grace: Women of Color and Their Dilemmas within the Academy 21-30 (2006) (Theodorea Regina Berry and Nathalie Mizelle) [Stylus]

Intellectual Property Law: Commercial, Creative, and Industrial Property, Law Journal Press (Contributing author – Chapters 4, 6, 9, and 10) (2003)

Articles

The Assault on Critical Race Theory as Pretext for Populist Backlash on Institutions of Higher Education, 66, No. 4 ST. LOUIS U. L.J. 707 (2022)

Antiracist Lawyering in Practice Begins with the Practice of Antiracist Teaching and Learning in Law Schools, 2022, No. 4 UTAH L. REV. 723 (2022)

A Black Woman Law Dean Speaks About the Precarity of Leadership, 51.2 SW. L. REV. 240 (2022)

Black Women’s Suffrage, the 19th Amendment, and the Duality of a Movement, 13.1 ALA. C.R. & C.L. L. REV. 1 (forthcoming 2022) (lead article)

Building an Antiracist Law School: Inclusivity in Admissions and Retention of Diverse Students — Leadership Determines DEI Success, 23 RUTGERS RACE & L. REV. 1 (2021) (with Bekah Saidman-Krauss and Rebecca Schreiber)

Embracing and Making Change: Serving the Law Students of Today and Tomorrow, 70, Nos. 2 & 3 J. LEGAL EDUC. 100 (2021)

“Building an Antiracist Law School," LEX 2022, Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law

“Inclusivity in Admissions and Retention of Diverse Students: Leadership Determines DEI Success,” Rutgers Race & the Law Review, Vol. 21, No. 1

“Legal Deserts: a Multi-State Perspective on Rural Access to Justice,“ 12 HARV. L. & POL’Y REV (2018) (with Lisa R. Pruitt, Amanda L. Kool, Lauren Sudeall Lucas, Michele Statz, and Hannah Haksgaard) [SSRN] [PDF]

“Promoting Indigenous Innovation, Enterprise, and Entrepreneurship through the Licensing of Article 31 Indigenous Assets and Resources,” 64 SMU L. REV. 1095 (2011) [SSRN]

“Emerging Trends in International, Federal, and State and Local Government Procurement in an Era of Global Economic Stimulus Funding,” 32 U. HAW. L. REV. 29 (2010) [SSRN]

“Indigenizing Intellectual Property Law: Customary Law, Legal Pluralism, and the Protection of Indigenous Peoples’ Rights, Identity, and Resources,” 15 TEX. WESLEYAN L. REV. 207 (2009) (Law Review Symposium Issue) [SSRN]

“Government Contractor and Grant Researcher Affirmative Defenses Against Patent Infringement,” 2007 JAN ARMY LAW. 139 [SSRN]

“Technology Transfer Agreements: Licensing of Trade Secrets and Works in Development,” ALI-ABA SM049 (September 2006)

“Defamation in the Digital Age: Liability in Chat Rooms, on Electronic Bulletin Boards, and in the Blogosphere,” ALI-ABA CK102 (April 2005), format revised and republished in 29 ALI-ABA BUS. L. COURSE MATERIALS J. 18 (2005) [SSRN]

“Safeguarding Hawaiian Traditional Knowledge and Cultural Heritage: Recognizing the Right to Self-Determination and Preventing the Commodification of Culture,” 48 HOW. L.J. 737 (2005) (Special Symposium Issue) [SSRN]

“Research and Development Deliverables under Government Contracts, Grants, Cooperative Agreements and CRADAs: University Roles, Government Responsibilities, and Contractor Rights,” 9 COMP. L. REV. & TECH. J. 181 (2004) [SSRN]

“Mongolia, Law Convergence, and the Third Era of Globalization,” 3 WASH. UNIV. GLOBAL STUD. L. REV. 63 (2004) [SSRN]

“Law and The Most Recent Era of Globalization: Mongolia Steps Forward to Address Issues of Globalization and Law Convergence,” 2 ACAD. MGMT (2002) (in Mongolian)

“The Perpetuation of Privilege and Anti-Affirmative Action Sentiment in Rice v. Cayetano,” 3 ASIAN-PAC. L. & POL’Y. J. 370 (2002) [SSRN]

“Remedying Trademark Infringement: The Role of Bad Faith in Awarding an Accounting of Defendant’s Profits,” 42 SANTA CLARA L. REV. 863 (2002) [SSRN]

“Factual Causation in Toxic Tort Litigation: A Philosophical View of Proof and Certainty in Uncertain Disciplines,” 35 U. RICH. L. REV. 875 (2002) (lead article) [SSRN]

“Uncloaking On-Campus Interviews: A Recruit’s Guide to the On-Campus Interview Process and the Job-Talk,” in Breaking into the Academy: The 2002-2004 Michigan Journal of Race & Law Guide for Aspiring Law Professors, 7 MICH. J. RACE & L. 523 (2002) [SSRN]

Essay and Opposite Editorial Page

Building an Antiracist Law School, 5 LEX 36 (2022)

Higher Ed and the Policing of Memory: Why universities must help lead the battle to defend and expand critical race theory, THE FORUM, August 8, 2022