On March 22, Associate Professor Atinuke Adediran received the Distinguished Research Award in Interdisciplinary Studies at Fordham University’s Third Annual Research Day Celebration. The event, organized by the Office of the Provost, Office of Research, University Research Council, and the Research Deans’ Council—was held at Fordham Law School.
Adediran was recognized for the outstanding research and competitive awards and grants she has received over the past year. In one of her articles, Adediran used natural language processing methods to showcase how large American companies have significantly increased the disclosure of DEI-related information following the murder of George Floyd in 2020. She used that research to craft proposals for changes to the law that mandate those disclosures to encourage businesses to increase racial, gender, and other forms of diversity in their workforces.
“Interdisciplinary research is essential because it brings together ideas and people from different disciplines working towards a common goal,” said Adediran upon receiving the award. “I’ve always taken an interdisciplinary approach, using social science tools to illuminate complex social and racial justice issues while also examining how the law might exacerbate or help to mitigate those inequities.”
She added: “It is my hope that my work will inspire others to embrace interdisciplinary approaches and work together towards a more equitable society. I look forward to continuing my research to tackle some of society’s most complex challenges.”
Adediran, who joined Fordham Law’s faculty in the fall of 2021, is an interdisciplinary empirical scholar whose areas of expertise include race and law, corporations, nonprofits, social impact, and law and social science. She has published articles and essays in leading law reviews and peer-reviewed journals such as the California Law Review, Columbia Law Review, Law and Social Inquiry, Northwestern Law Review, Virginia Law Review, and UCLA Law Review.
The award caps an extremely productive period for Adediran, whose scholarship has been recognized by organizations across the country over the past year. Below are some of Adediran’s other accomplishments and recognitions:
- Presidential Research Grant
Russell Sage Foundation (2023-2025)
To select grant winners, the foundation employs a rigorous multi-disciplinary review process at every stage of the application process, including review by external reviewers from multiple disciplines selected specifically for their expertise. The grant gives Adediran a $50,000 grant during a two-year period from 2023 to 2025 for her book project centered on how large companies use disclosures to construct a race-conscious public image and treat claims of systemic racism in their business as social risk. Adediran will use the funds to conduct the research and analysis for the book.
- Scholar-in-Residence, “Equality, Law and Social Justice” Summer Research Residency
Dickson Poon School of Law, King’s College London (June and July 2023)
This is the inaugural event in an annual series of research-intensive thematic residencies at King’s College addressing an important and topical legal theme. Scholars were selected for their expertise on law and equality. The goal of the residency is to share ideas, deepen and develop new understandings, build academic conversations across different intellectual perspectives, and to create new research networks in this area.
- Visiting Fellow, Center for Racial Justice
Gerald Ford School of Public Policy, University of Michigan (2022-2023)
Adediran is one of three inaugural recipients of this non-residential fellowship. The program offers fellows the opportunity to meaningfully engage with University of Michigan faculty and students as they complete a catalyst project that has the potential to inform public debate, policy development, and scholarly analysis pertinent to (anti)racism and racial justice. Adediran’s project is her book, which centers how large companies use disclosures to construct a race-conscious public image and treat claims of systemic racism in their business as social risk.
- Honorable Mention, 2022 Deborah Rhode Prize for Early Career Scholars
International Association of Legal Ethics (August 2022)
This prize recognizes articles on topics of legal ethics written by early career scholars to promote continued scholarship in the field. Adediran was recognized for her article “Racial Allies,” which was published in the Fordham Law Review in 2022. According to the prize committee, Adediran’s paper makes a comprehensive empirical analysis of under-representation of Black lawyers in public interest law organizations and a compelling argument for reform to address this under representation.