Many faculty at Penn State Law in University Park focus their scholarship on race, equity and the law. Our faculty research critiques and examines disparities and inequities in immigration, criminal justice, policing, justice, health, housing, education, labor, and sports. Faculty research in this space is crucial to the generation of ideas and solutions for reforms in our legal system as well as to related discussions in the classroom. Featured below is the recent scholarship of six of our faculty members.
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Kit KinportsProfessor Kinports is a leading scholar of feminist jurisprudence, criminal law and federalism, and an award-winning classroom teacher. Faculty Bio Select Scholarship | More Scholarship The Myth of Battered Woman Syndrome |
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Dara PurvisDara E. Purvis is Associate Dean for Research and Partnerships and Professor of Law. She is a scholar of family law, feminist legal theory, masculinities, and sexuality, gender identity, and the law. Faculty Bio Select Scholarship | More Scholarship Frozen Embryos, Male Consent, and Masculinities Gender Stereotypes and Gender Identity in Public Schools |
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Victor RomeroProfessor Romero’s research emphasizes the law's impact on marginalized groups. He is especially interested in borders and boundaries—both legal and cultural—and how these function. Faculty Bio Select Scholarship | More Scholarship Racism, Incorporated: Ramos v. Louisiana and Jogging While Black All the Presidents’ Dreamers: Immigration Reform that Biden and Trump Can Agree On (And Why That Reform May be Elusive) |
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Shoba Sivaprasad WadhiaShoba Sivaprasad Wadhia is Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Samuel Weiss Faculty Scholar, and Clinical Professor of Law. Her research focuses on the role of prosecutorial discretion in immigration law and the intersections of race, national security, and immigration. Faculty Bio Select Scholarship | More Scholarship Discretion and Disobedience in the Chinese Exclusion Era Decitizenizing Asian Pacific American Women |
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Jacob SchumanJacob Schuman is an assistant professor of law and an affiliate faculty member at Penn State's Criminal Justice Research Center and Consortium to Combat Substance Abuse. He studies criminal law, criminal procedure, and sentencing. Faculty Bio Select Scholarship | More Scholarship Criminal Violations Revocation and Retribution |
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Steve RossProfessor Ross teaches and writes in the disparate areas of sports law, comparative constitutional law, and statutory Interpretation. Faculty Bio Select Scholarship | More Scholarship An Advanced Introduction to Global Sports Law The Political Process and Substantive Due Process |