Around the fall of 1985, Cynthia Nance had just missed the application deadline for the University of Iowa College of Law when her phone rang. The school’s dean of admissions, Dennis Shields, was calling her. Nance didn’t pick up, but when her mom rang, she answered. Someone named Shields wanted to talk to her about law school, her mom told Nance.
Nance called Shields back.
“He didn’t let me not apply,” said Nance, who met Shields earlier that year at a law school recruitment forum in her hometown of Chicago. Shields already knew about Nance when he showed up at the forum. A colleague had told him to keep an eye out for the talented Chicago State University undergraduate with a stellar transcript, who went by “Cyndi,” and grew up on the south side of Chicago.
“Cyndi is a remarkable person, let me just say that upfront. I’ll take some credit for recognizing that early on and providing a foothold for her,” said Shields, who is now the Chancellor at University of Wisconsin-Platteville. “But her success is a result of her personal character, her talent, her effort, and her energy.”
That call to Nance’s mom turned out to be the push this diligent, yet at times doubtful student, needed to launch her trailblazing career in law and higher education. In 1994, Nance began teaching law at the University of Arkansas School of Law as only one of two women of color on the faculty. By 2006, Nance became the first woman and the first African American dean at the university.
“I’ve had such a very blessed life. I’ve had people around me who realized my potential, even if I was sheepish about it,” said Nance, who is now the dean emeritus and Nathan G. Gordon Professor of Law at the University of Arkansas. “I try to nurture my students, especially the first-generation ones, because I’ve been there. The same goes for women and people of color. I know what it feels like when someone sees that potential in you.”
This year, the American Bar Foundation, an honorary organization of lawyers, judges, and legal scholars, named Nance chair of the Foundation’s Fellows. Only one percent of licensed lawyers in each jurisdiction are Fellows, and they are elected by the American Bar Foundation’s Board.
