Cynthia Nance, former dean of the University of Arkansas School of Law, has received the Robert J. Kutak Award from the American Bar Association’s Section on Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar. The annual award honors individuals who have made significant contributions to the collaboration of the legal academy, the bench, and the bar.
Nance, the Nathan G. Gordon Professor of Law, recently completed her second tenure as dean of the University of Arkansas School of Law. She was first named dean in 2006, making her the first woman and first person of color to lead the law school in its then-82-year history. She served in the role until 2011 and was appointed again to the same position in 2022.
In the broader field of legal education, Professor Nance has held numerous leadership roles with several law organizations, including the American Bar Association, the Association of American Law Schools, the National Law Association for Law Placement Foundation Board, and the Law School Admission Council Board of Trustees. She is the immediate past president of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers — the first woman of color to serve in that role — and the immediate past-chair of the American Bar Foundation Fellows.
Professor Nance is a magna cum laude graduate of Chicago State University. She holds a juris doctorate from the University of Iowa College of Law and a master’s degree from the University of Iowa College of Business. An Arkansas faculty member since 1994, she focuses her teaching and research on labor and employment law, workplace legislation, poverty law, and lawyers as leaders.
