AccessLex Institute Announces Grant Winners

Washington, D.C. (March 28, 2019) - AccessLex Institute and the Association for Institutional Research (AIR) have announced the winners of nearly $175,000 in grants awarded through their Research and Dissertation Fellows Program. The program is funded by AccessLex Institute and administered by the Association for Institutional Research (AIR) to promote scholarship on issues related to access, affordability and the value of legal education specifically, and graduate and professional education more broadly. Grants of up to $50,000 for scholars and $25,000 for doctoral students are awarded to help fund year-long research projects.

“Our grantmaking approach focuses on funding projects that support our research and diversity priorities,” said AccessLex President and Chief Executive Officer, Christopher P. Chapman. “Our organization’s guiding tenets are access, affordability and value, and the work of each of these grantees is driven by those same principles. We are proud to partner with AIR to support and promote these necessary studies.”

The selected proposals can be viewed on AIR’s website. This year’s recipients are:

• Andres Castro Samayoa, Boston College – a $49,978 research grant to determine how Latinx students and university officials at differently ranked law schools articulate legal education’s value;
• Jaekyung Lee, University at Buffalo – a $49,925 research grant to study the academic and sociocultural readiness for postgraduate education among immigrant and international students;
• Louis Rocconi, University of Tennessee – a $50,000 research grant to examine the relationship between law school rank and student engagement; and,
• Elizabeth Bodamer, Indiana University – a $24,600 dissertation grant to study the law school experience of minority students.

Since launching its grantmaking activities in 2014, AccessLex Institute has awarded over $6 million in support of its research priorities.

About AccessLex Institute: In partnership with its nearly 200 nonprofit and state-affiliated ABA-approved member law schools, AccessLex Institute has been committed to improving access to legal education and to maximizing the affordability and value of a law degree since 1983. The AccessLex Center for Legal Education Excellence advocates for policies that make legal education work better for students and society alike and conducts research on the most critical issues facing legal education today. The AccessLex Center for Education and Financial Capability offers on-campus and online financial education programming and resources to help students confidently manage their finances on their way to achieving personal and professional success. Learn more at AccessLex.org.