William H. Bowen School of Law
Professor of Law
Professor Adjoa Aiyetoro has been a leading voice in ending racial disparities in the criminal justice system locally, statewide, and nationally. Her public service centers on researching and resolving racism and its effects in the United States, particularly raising awareness of the need for racial justice.
In 2011, she served as the inaugural director of UA Little Rock’s Institute on Race and Ethnicity, which has a mission to seek racial and ethnic justice in Arkansas by remembering and understanding the past, informing and engaging the present, and shaping and defining the future. In January 2012, she returned to Bowen as a full-time faculty member, where she has continued to work on projects that raise awareness of racial justice issues. She is also the director of the Racial Disparities in the Arkansas Criminal Justice System and brought the Racial Disparities Project to the law school.
Beginning in 2011, as director of the Racial Disparities in the Arkansas Criminal Justice System, Professor Aiyetoro developed a team and began researching records of hundreds of Arkansas prisoners to determine the reasons for significant racial disparities within the state’s criminal justice system. Her study concluded there were racial disparities in prisoner’s sentences. Her work on this project resulted in a conference in August 2015 sponsored by the Racial Disparities Project’s Steering Committee and has contributed to legislation to obtain support for racial impact.
She has also worked as a board member of the Arkansas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty. While working with this coalition, Professor Aiyetoro successfully convinced the Senate Judiciary Committee to hold a hearing on the death penalty and assisted the introduction of a death penalty abolition bill that was voted “do pass” out of the Committee. This was the first time an Arkansas legislative committee had endorsed such a bill since 1968. She has also worked on recognizing and commemorating civil rights history as well as raising awareness on issues of race in Arkansas. In March 2012, she organized a one-day conference in Pulaski County titled “Arkansas Media, Race and Ethnicity: Accountability, Responsibility and Opportunity.” During summer 2012, she organized a forum honoring the 55th anniversary of the Little Rock Nine. Her dedication to service has not only contributed to fulfilling UA Little Rock’s public service mission but has also positively impacted the lives of many Arkansas residents.
Professor Adjoa Aiyetoro has a J.D. from Saint Louis University School of Law, an M.S.W from Washington University St. Louis, and a A.B. from Clark University.