- University News Archive - ��Vlog��ý Little Rock

- University News Archive - ��Vlog��ý Little Rock /news-archive/tag/andre-douglas-pond-cummings/ ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Fri, 17 Sep 2021 15:06:17 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 Bowen Law School Receives $1 million from Walmart to Fund Court Observation Project /news-archive/2021/09/17/walmart-bowen-justice-initiative/ Fri, 17 Sep 2021 15:06:17 +0000 /news/?p=79916 ...]]> Center for Racial Justice and Criminal Justice Reform. The project will introduce a state-wide court observation initiative that will create and share a transparent body of reliable data and research about Arkansas’s criminal justice system that is otherwise unavailable in the state. The goal is to use the data collected to craft targeted solutions, such as policy changes and training materials. The project has two inaugural research modules. The first will survey pre-trial detention practices. The second will collect data on criminal charging. “The project can provide valuable information and data about how the Arkansas criminal justice system operates. Policymakers can then use this data to develop strategies to improve the criminal justice system in Arkansas,” said Anastasia Boles, a law professor at Bowen and the center’s co-director. Project faculty and staff will work with consultants, stakeholders and subject-matter experts to design the data collection sheet. After that, student fellows will work with court personnel and the project’s program manager to gather and compile data from criminal court proceedings throughout Arkansas. Law school faculty will help develop assessments to track student progress. In addition, the project plans to work with faculty from partner institutions each semester to include as court observers a small cohort of undergraduate students who are interested in criminal justice and the project’s research. “Developing the instruments used for court observations and sharing the data this project generates will improve the lives of all Arkansans,” said andré douglas pond cummings, associate dean for faculty development and the center’s co-director. The primary goal is gathering data about the incarceration for many–particularly nonviolent offenders – and then improving outcomes for those already impacted by the justice system in its current form. These solutions will, for the first time in Arkansas, be based on accurate observed data that can be shared across the nation, building an infrastructure for positive change that can eventually have a global impact. “The project is positioned to become a valuable part of Bowen’s core values of access to justice, public service, and professionalism,” said Dean Theresa Beiner. “I am grateful for Walmart, Inc.’s support.”]]> Law school creates Center for Racial Justice and Criminal Justice Reform /news-archive/2021/09/01/bowen-center-for-racial-justice-and-criminal-justice-reform/ Wed, 01 Sep 2021 21:01:53 +0000 /news/?p=79773 ...]]> Center for Racial Justice and Criminal Justice Reform. The Center recently received approval by both the ��Vlog��ý System Board of Trustees and the Arkansas Department of Higher Education. The Center’s mission is to advance legal equity, access to justice, and fairness in Arkansas and the region. Bowen professors Anastasia Boles and andré douglas pond cummings co-founded the Center and will act as its co-directors. “The Center will provide educational and professional development opportunities for Bowen law students, empowering them to become the next generation of legal leaders,” said Boles. “Research fellowships, such as the newly created Sam Reeves Racial Justice and Criminal Justice Reform Fellowship, will provide stipends for student researchers.” In addition, the Center will focus on specific criminal justice research projects while offering workshops and educational events for the legal community and the community as a whole. “The Center is enthusiastic about engaging with stakeholders across the state, including the legal and law enforcement communities, academics, students, and community members, in developing research tools and sharing data to improve the lives of all Arkansans,” said cummings. Another part of the Center’s mission is to increase diversity in law school and the legal profession. The law school recently received a $25,000 grant from the Building Black Communities Fund, coordinated by the Arkansas Community Foundation and the Arkansas Black Philanthropy Collaborative, to create and implement a law school pipeline program that will include an LSAT prep course as well as prospective student visits to the law school to sit in on classes and learn how to navigate the law school application process. The course will be part of Bowen’s existing pipeline programs with Arkansas historically Black colleges and universities. An advisory group of leaders, policymakers, and criminal justice experts from across the state representing a range of perspectives and experiences will support the Center’s work. This will ensure the Center and its initiatives are designed and executed in a way that maximizes collaboration, engagement, efficiency, transparency, and credibility. “The Center is firmly rooted in Bowen’s core values of access to justice, public service, and professionalism,” said Dean Theresa M. Beiner. “The events over the past year have brought these values to the forefront. Many students choose to attend law school because they seek to improve their communities and to be part of local, regional, and national conversations about the legal system. The Center, through research opportunities and educational programs, will give them the opportunity to achieve those goals.” The Center will build on other Bowen initiatives, including the Racial Disparities in the Arkansas Criminal Justice System Research Project. That project released a 2015 report analyzing racial disparities in Arkansas criminal sentencing and has worked with the community to examine criminal justice issues. In addition, the Rural Practice Incubator Project trains and supports new attorneys who wish to open law practices in underserved counties in Arkansas. Bowen’s public service externship program also provides students opportunities to work in federal, state, and local court systems, government agencies, and non-profit organizations. “The Center for Racial Justice and Criminal Justice at the Bowen Law School builds on a long-standing institutional commitment to foster discussion of racial equity issues in our communities,” said ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Chancellor Christina Drale. “Chancellor Joel Anderson made this commitment explicit in 2003 when he implemented the annual Racial Attitudes Survey to promote racial equity through research and dialogue. We are proud to continue this public service tradition through our new center at the Bowen School of Law.”]]> Law school names cummings associate dean for faculty development /news-archive/2021/08/27/cummings-named-associate-dean/ Fri, 27 Aug 2021 13:31:56 +0000 /news/?p=79708 ...]]> Professor andré douglas pond cummings has been named the next associate dean for faculty development at the . He succeeds Professor Terrence Cain, who has served as associate dean since 2018. Cummings joined the law school faculty in 2018 and was recently named the Charles C. Baum Distinguished Professor of Law. “During dre’s time here, he has made a meaningful impact at Bowen,” said Theresa Beiner, dean of the law school. “In addition to his prolific scholarship, he has spoken about his work both in and outside of Arkansas. He is also an innovative teacher who uses formative and summative assessments in his classes, including experiential drafting.” Before arriving at Bowen, cummings was a visiting professor of law at The University of Illinois Chicago School of Law, where he taught contracts I and II, hip hop & the American constitution and sports law. Prior to that, he also worked as a professor of law at the West Virginia University College of Law, where he taught business associations, civil procedure, entertainment law and securities regulation. Cummings has written extensively over his career, including three books and over forty law review articles. His areas of expertise span corporate law, constitutional law, civil rights law, sports law and entertainment law, with his focus in each seemingly diverse area anchored in social justice and economic equality. Examples of this work include his books “Hip Hop and the Law” and “Corporate Justice” as well as his recent articles including “Reforming Policing” and “Roadmap for Antiracism: Unwind the War on Drugs Now.” Cummings’s service activities include working with the , and as Board President of . He is the co-director of Bowen’s new Board of Trustees approved Center for Racial Justice and Criminal Justice Reform, a center that will focus on improving the justice system here in Arkansas. “I am deeply honored to have been asked by Dean Beiner to serve as the associate dean for faculty development and am very enthusiastic about working individually with my fellow faculty members,” said cummings. “I view faculty research and scholarship to be the lifeblood of a law school as transformative scholarship informs not just law practice, but also classroom teaching and the legal academy. I chose to come to Bowen because of the deep commitment that our faculty holds to teaching our students with great skill, but also in the dedication that many of our faculty have to producing meaningful scholarship that is cited by judges in their written opinions and quite literally impacts the state and nation in positive ways leading to more fair and just outcomes.”]]> Law school professor accepts NFL Social Justice Grant on Behalf of Abolish Private Prisons /news-archive/2020/10/27/law-school-grant/ Tue, 27 Oct 2020 12:57:26 +0000 /news/?p=77775 ...]]> André douglas pond cummings, a professor of law at the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law, together with Executive Director John Dacey, has received a $5,000 on behalf of a nonprofit organization that fights to end the practice of locking people up for profit. “We are truly honored to receive this grant,” said cummings, who serves as president of the board of Abolish Private Prisons. “As a wholly volunteer organization battling a monolithic system that discriminates and destroys minority communities, we are grateful for, and encouraged by, this recognition from the NFL. The funds will go to immediate use in supporting our efforts to end for-profit incarceration across the U.S.” Members of Abolish Private Prisons include lawyers and advocates who are pursuing a court ruling holding that profiting off the backs of prisoners violates the U.S. Constitution. Their first class action lawsuit addressing the issue, Nielsen, et. al v. Shinn, was filed in August 2020 in U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona. Abolish Private Prisons asserts that incarcerating American citizens for profit violates the 8^th, 13^th, and 14^th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. The NFL’s is a 1:1 matching grant that funds up to $5,000 on behalf of a current or former NFL player in the area of social justice. Current or former players may participate in the grant program if they have their own nonprofit organizations that support social justice or if they have donated time, money, or in-kind value to a third-party nonprofit working in social justice. The grant to Abolish Private Prisons was made on behalf of Terry “Tank” Johnson, a retired defensive tackle who played in the NFL from 2004 until 2010. He played for the Chicago Bears, the Dallas Cowboys, and the Cincinnati Bengals. Post-retirement, he obtained a degree in sociology from the University of Washington and created “Moving the Chains,” a counseling program that helps ex-offenders learn from their mistakes and avoid negative influences in their lives. “The increase in athlete activism this past summer has been inspiring,” states cummings. “From the NBA’s support of the Black Lives Matter Movement to the NFL’s commitment to contribute $250 million to social justice causes, a new era in activist athlete participation points to true efforts and new opportunities to work toward equal justice under the law and anti-racism within the U.S.”]]> ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Downtown Center release spring lecture series /news-archive/2020/02/19/downtown-lecture-series/ Wed, 19 Feb 2020 15:51:44 +0000 /news/?p=76264 ...]]> The lecture series will feature talks on the 2020 presidential election, restrictions on religious clothing and its impact on attitudes about immigration, hip hop and the American constitution, and Syrian and Lebanese migration. All lectures are free and open to the public, except for the Feb. 20 event. Individuals are encouraged to RSVP by emailing downtown@ualr.edu. For more information, contact Ross Owyoung, ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Downtown director, at 501-916-5000 or rlowyoung@ualr.edu or check online. The lecture schedule includes: Wednesday, Feb. 19, 6-7 p.m., “Syrian and Lebanese Migration in the Brazilian Imagination” with Dr. Edma Delgado-Solórzano, assistant professor of Spanish. Thursday, Feb. 20, 6:30-8 p.m. As part of the Applied Communication Leadership Lecture Series, Dr. Marquese McFerguson, ��Vlog��ý Little Rock applied communication alumnus, will discuss “Between Hip Hop, Communication, and Community Building.” The lecture is $20 for general admission or $5 for ��Vlog��ý Little Rock employees and students. Thursday, March 5, 6-7 p.m., “2020 Presidential Election Discussion” with Skip Rutherford, dean of the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service. Just two days after Super Tuesday, Rutherford, who is leading a seminar on the 2020 elections this fall at the Clinton School, will discuss the results of Super Tuesday and its implications for the presidential election. Wednesday, March 11, 6-7 p.m., “Banning the Veil: The Effect of Religious Clothing Restrictions on Attitudes towards Immigrants in Europe” with Dr. Rebecca Glazier, assistant professor of political science, Dr. Chris Williams, assistant professor of political science and international studies, and graduate student Leon Kockaya. Wednesday, March 18, 6-7 p.m., “Hip Hop and the American Constitution” with andré douglas pond cummings, associate professor of law at William H. Bowen Law School. Thursday, April 2, 6-7 p.m. Donaghey Scholars alumna Elizabeth Bowles, president and chairman of Aristotle Inc. will deliver the Kathy and C. Earl Ramsey Lecture Series.]]> Bowen professor serves as Constitution Day speaker at ��Vlog��ýPB /news-archive/2019/09/16/bowen-professor-serves-as-constitution-day-speaker-at-uapb/ Mon, 16 Sep 2019 17:27:04 +0000 /news/?p=75179 ...]]> Cummings will hold a lecture on “Hip-Hop and the Constitution” during the free, public event that begins at 9:30 a.m. in the J.M. Ross Theatre of the Hathaway-Howard fine arts building Cummings joined the William H. Bowen School of Law faculty in 2018, teaching Business Organizations, Contracts I and II, Corporate Justice, Entertainment Law, and Hip Hop and the American Constitution. Prior to arriving at Bowen, Cummings was a visiting professor of law at the John Marshall Law School in Chicago, Illinois. He has served as interim dean, vice dean, and founding associate dean for academic affairs at the Indiana Tech Law School, and was professor of law at the West Virginia University College of Law. Before embarking on his academic career, Cummings worked as a judicial law clerk for Chief Judge Joseph Hatchett of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit and for Justice Christine Durham of the Utah Supreme Court. In addition, he worked at the Chicago-based law firm of Kirkland & Ellis, focusing his practice on complex business transactions including mergers, acquisitions, divestitures and securities offerings of publicly traded corporations. Simultaneously, Cummings represented clients in the sports and entertainment industries, including athletes in the National Football League, record labels, motion picture production companies, and a variety of authors, including Hollywood screenwriters. Cummings writes extensively on issues regarding investor protection, racial and social justice, and sports and entertainment law. He has been published in the Washington University Law Review, Indiana Law Journal, Utah Law Review, Howard Law Journal, Drexel Law Review, Marquette Sports Law Review, Iowa Journal of Gender, Race and Justice, Thurgood Marshall Law Review, and Harvard Journal on Racial and Ethnic Justice, amongst many others. Cummings has published three books including, “Corporate Justice” with Todd Clark in 2016, “Hip Hop and the Law” with Pamela Bridgewater and Donald Tibbs in 2015, and “Reversing Field: Examining Commercialization, Labor, Gender, and Race in 21st Century Sports Law” with Anne Marie Lofaso in 2010. For more information about the event, call 870-575-8470.]]>