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Onwuachi-Willig, of Grinnell, Iowa, is dean and professor of law at Boston University School of Law. A renowned legal scholar and expert in racial and gender inequality as well as civil rights law, Onwuachi-Willig previously served as Chancellor’s Professor of Law at the University of California-Berkeley, and Charles and Marion Kierscht Professor of Law at the University of Iowa. She also was a visiting professor in political science at Grinnell in spring 2016. Prior to these positions, she served as assistant professor of law at the University of California-Davis and a labor and employment/litigation associate at both Jones Day and Foley Hoag. She has published extensively in leading law journals and is author of According to Our Hearts: Rhinelander v. Rhinelander and the Law of the Multiracial Family. In addition, she is a past Iowa Supreme Court finalist and a past recipient of the Derrick A. Bell Jr. and Clyde Ferguson Awards. She also is a member of the American Law Institute and was previously listed on the National Law Journal’s “Minority 40 under 40” list.

She received a B.A. in American studies from Grinnell in 1994. As a student, she served as Student Government Association president during her junior year and was a student adviser and a member of the Multiethnic Coalition. In addition, she was a member of the track and field and women's rugby teams. She went on to earn a law degree from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and clerked for U.S. District Court Judge Solomon Oliver and U.S. Circuit Court Judge Karen Nelson Moore. She also earned a Master of Arts, a Master of Philosophy, and a Ph.D. in sociology and African American studies from Yale University. At Grinnell, she is a member of her class committee and the Multicultural Reunion Committee. She served as president of the Alumni Council and an ex-officio member of the college’s Board of Trustees in 2016–17.