
Judy Scales Trent
Professor of Law at the University at Buffalo and Author Who Has Won Praise for Her Powerful New Ideas About Race in America
Judy Scales-Trent is Professor of Law at The State University of New York at Buffalo. Before joining the law school faculty in 1984, she practiced law at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for twelve years. Professor Scales-Trent received a J.D. from Northwestern University Law School, and has a Masters degree in French language and literature…
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Full Bio
Judy Scales-Trent is Professor of Law at The State University of New York at Buffalo. Before joining the law school faculty in 1984, she practiced law at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for twelve years. Professor Scales-Trent received a J.D. from Northwestern University Law School, and has a Masters degree in French language and literature from Middlebury College. She teaches courses in employment discrimination law and constitutional law. She also teaches a seminar on law and literature, and a seminar on the legal construction of “race” in America.
“My major research interest has been “race” in America, and the complicated nature of that concept. So, for example, I have written a lot about the intersection of race and gender in American law. This includes both legal analyses (e.g., “Black Women and the Constitution: Finding Our Place, Asserting Our Rights”), as well as the results of social science research about a public interest law firm (“Equal Rights Advocates: Addressing the Legal Issues of Women of Color”). I have also written about the intersection of race and color in American life (“Notes of a White Black Woman: Race, Color, Community”). And more recently, in my latest publication, I compared the American concept of “race” to the Nazi concept of “religion” through an analysis of the racial purity laws of both states (“Racial Purity Laws in the United States and Nazi Germany: The Targeting Process”).
Two of my earliest passions in life – literature and the French language, have come to play an important role in my recent work. In the fall of 1997, I spent a month in France thinking about the intersection of “race”/ethnicity and gender in that country. It led me to study the lives of immigrant African women (“African Women in France: Immigration, Family, and Work”). It also led me to Dakar, Senegal, on a Fulbright, during academic year 2000-2001. While there, I taught a course on comparative constitutional law (U.S./Senegal) at Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar, and began a research project on Senegalese women lawyers.
My love of literature led me to create a seminar on literature and law several years ago. wanted the students to remember the power and value of literature, and to remember to keep it in their lives (“Using Literature in Law School: The Importance of Reading and Telling Stories”). Since my return from Senegal, in my law and literature seminar, we are reading mainly Senegalese literature, translated from the French.”
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Ernie was perfect for our Elders Conference at Little River Casino Resort in Manistee, Michigan. We will definitely be using PDA again!

LITTLE RIVER BAND OF OTTAWA INDIANS
Our speaker was great and the crowd enjoyed her! She was very engaging. Thank you again PDA for the great list of suggestions!

MEDTRONIC
Everything went great! and our speaker was wonderful! Thank you so much for all your help PDA! Looking forward to the next one.

UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI – KANSAS CITY
I hope that this message finds you well. We had a phenomenal time with Atsuko this past Thursday. We wanted to just let you know how amazing she was. All those that were in attendance thoroughly enjoyed her and had nothing but amazing things to say about her. Thank you for working with us to make sure this happened!

BAYLOR UNIVERSITY CAMPUS
We had a fantastic day with Inge! She was very engaging with all those that attended. Her personal stories about the holocaust were very special and we were moved that she was willing to share them with everyone. Thank you again, PDA for all your hard work and dedication to make this program such a success!

SALT LAKE COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Dear PDA Group, Thank you so much for your hard work in scheduling our speaker! From the moment we reached out to you the first time, you worked with us on all details and logistics and kept us up-to-date on the progress. Thank you for all your hard work on making our event such a success! We couldn't have done it without you and your team!

SAP COMPANY
Thank you again, Dr. Kimbrough, for a great presentation, our attendees are still talking about it!

CAMPUS LABS
Dr. Henry Lee's presentation was entertaining, insightful and wise. I, and everyone at Pfizer, especially appreciate the remarks you directed about following your passion and preparing yourself to excel. Thank you, everyone, at PDA for helping to make this happen!

PFIZER
The event was successful! I received many messages expressing how awesome, outstanding and inspiring Ms. Webb-Christburg's speech was."

DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. MEMORIAL BREAKFAST, BOSTON, MLK SPEAKER
Everything went well. Atsuko was very easy to work with and the students enjoyed her performance! Thank you again for your recommendation and I hope to work with you again in the future!

CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY
Dr. Novello left this morning after a very successful event on our campus! Thank you PDA Group for your help from the first phone to the last you were with us every step of the way.

GRAND VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY
Jordan Carlos was very very entertaining! A majority of students who answered the event survey indicated they really enjoyed Jordan and definitely will bring him back!

WESTERN CAROLINA UNIVERSITY
On behalf of myself and my organization Entertainment Unlimited the Campus Programming Board of Ferris State University, we thank you PDA and Dan for a successful event!! Dan was magnificent! Students really enjoyed the presentation. I know I did. Can't wait to bring in more programs with PDA Group.

FERRIS STATE UNIVERSITY
It was a great pleasure to work with PDA Group! The communication was always prompt, friendly and helpful. We loved the speakers and events we booked through Mr. Peter Walker (PDA Group).

WESTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY
Thank you, Peter, for all your help, you'll be happy to know that the event went incredibly well! Aneesa Ferreira was by far one of the best speakers we've ever had!

FURMAN UNIVERSITY
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