School of Law Dean Angela Onwuachi-Willig, a renowned scholar in critical race theory and an expert in racial and gender inequality, as well as antidiscrimination law, has been named as the inaugural Ryan Roth Gallo and Ernest J. Gallo Professor.
Endowed by Ryan Roth Gallo (LAW’99), vice chair of BU’s Board of Trustees, and her husband, Ernest J. Gallo, with a gift of $3 million, the professorship lines up with the School of Law’s history of being forward-thinking on inclusiveness in regard to race and gender. The professorship is not only the first one at the School of Law to support a faculty member whose research focuses on critical race theory (CRT), the study of systemic racism and its effects, with a preferred focus on the intersection of race and gender, it is the first professorship in CRT in the country. Roth Gallo, a member of the LAW Dean’s Advisory Board, describes CRT and one of its subspecialties, critical race feminism, as “exciting and important areas for modern legal scholars and practitioners.”
“As we have seen for many years, and increasingly over the past summer, our country needs some new and innovative ideas about how to meet the ideal of equal justice for all,” Roth Gallo says. “It is our hope that providing an endowed chair will bring to the forefront those new ideas that will lead to changes that promote justice for all.”