Since launching our grantmaking activities in 2014, we have awarded over $26.4 million in support of our research priorities: access, affordability, and the value of legal education.
Awarded Grants
Grant Program
Grant Status

American Bar Foundation
Dr. Robert Nelson has been awarded a grant to analyze longitudinal data collected from the After the JD Study of Lawyer Careers to determine the role of legal education in careers. This grant will support the work of young scholars who are providing research support throughout the project.

Dillard University
This grant supports the Foundation to Legal Education Advancing Diversity (LEAD) program. The program will provide rising college juniors with analytical and logical reasoning skills to ensure their success on the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) and in law school.

Dillard University
This grant supports the Legal Education Advancing Diversity (LEAD) program which offers students and graduates from underrepresented background the opportunity to participate in year-long program. The program provides these students with LSAT preparation, strategies for creating a competitive law school application, support throughout the application process, and a mentorship program.

Indiana University Maurer School of Law
Indiana University received a grant to support the analysis of LSSSE data to determine in which ways social belonging influences law students’ engagement and success. In addition, this grant will support the development, implementation, and evaluation of a productive mindset intervention for final-semester law students and recent law school graduates who are sitting, for the July 2018 California bar exam.

University of Cincinnati
A $50,000 research grant was awarded to Amy Farley, Assistant Professor of Education Policy in Educational Leadership, to study and better understand the various factors, student characteristics, and programmatic interventions that contribute to positive outcomes for law students.

Seton Hall University
A $32,322 research grant was awarded to Robert Kelchen, Assistant Professor of Higher Education, to examine whether professional programs raised tuition prices at higher rates following the 2006 creation of the Grad PLUS program and the 2007 expansion of income-driven repayment programs.

University of Northern Colorado
A $49,423 research grant was awarded to Amy Li, Assistant Professor of Higher Education, to examine the relationship between law school costs and attendance rates.

Council of Graduate Schools
A $49,851 research grant was awarded to Hironao Okahana, Higher Education Researcher, to examine access to graduate and professional education, factors that are associated with attrition, and the effects that departure without earning a degree has on the future economic prospects of students.

American University
A $50,000 research grant was awarded to Erdal Tekin, Professor with the Department of Public Administration and Policy, to explore whether exposure to adjunct (part-time) law school instructors affects students’ success.