Nantiya Ruan

Professor Ruan is a Professor of the Practice of Law at the University of Denver, Sturm College of Law, and the inaugural co-recipient of ALWD’s Diversity Award!

This award honors a person who has made significant accomplishments in the area of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) or has demonstrated a strong commitment to promoting DEI, including efforts to improve the status of historically underrepresented groups. ALWD created this award in furtherance of its continued commitment to contributing to a legal writing discipline that is equitable and inclusive. The meaningful inclusion of diverse voices and experiences is necessary for ALWD to succeed in its mission of improving legal education and the analytic, reasoning, and writing abilities of lawyers.

Professor Ruan has a deep and awe-inspiring record of contributions on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.  She has engaged in leadership and hard work on DEI issues at her institutions and in the legal writing community.

Professor Ruan has promoted ALWD's values of diversity, equity, and inclusion through her classroom work, publications, conference organizing and presentations, and mentorship of students. To give you a small sampling of Professor Ruan’s impactful scholarship, we invite you to explore her scholarship on the impact of procedural rules on low-wage workers, cited by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis.  In the inaugural year of this award, ALWD is proud to acknowledge the work of Professor Ruan and to thank her for such tremendous work on DEI efforts and issues, benefiting all of us.

Although we were not able to honor Professor Ruan in person, we held a virtual celebration in conjunction with the virtual 2021 ALWD Biennial Conference.  Professor Ruan was kind enough to share this photo.