Eboni Nelson took the reins of the University of Connecticut’s School of Law in 2020, amid the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and a nationwide reckoning with inequality within the justice system, and her profile seems poised to grow with the launch of several new programs and initiatives.
Under Nelson’s leadership, the law school has expanded its Master of Laws program with a new degree in governance, risk management and compliance, and established the Constance Belton Green Diversity Fund to support diversity, racial and social justice initiatives.
Last fall she oversaw the launch of the Center on Community Safety, Policing and Inequality, which will research policy and recommend reforms related to law enforcement institutions and public safety.
The law school has also launched a new website during Nelson’s tenure and is currently engaged in an ambitious philanthropic campaign to mark its centennial, as well as a new strategic planning process.
Aside from overseeing the law school’s direction, she also serves as a professor, teaching on topics including contracts, commercial and consumer law, and race, class and education.
Nelson came to Connecticut from the University of South Carolina School of Law, where she taught from 2007 to 2020. For the two years leading up to her appointment at UConn, she was also associate dean for academic affairs.