Associate Dean for Experiential Learning and Clinical Programs; Ben J. Altheimer Professor of Law; Director, Public Service Externship Program and Pro Bono Opportunities

(501) 916-5465 | Room 105L
Email: [email protected]
Faculty Assistant: Larry Rhodes | Room 105G | (501) 916-5424 | [email protected]
Kelly S. Terry is the Associate Dean for Experiential Learning & Clinical Programs, Ben J. Altheimer Professor of Law, and director of the Public Service Externship Program and Pro Bono Opportunities at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law. Dean Terry also serves as a consultant to the Institute for Law Teaching and Learning, which is a national organization focused on best practices in law teaching, curriculum design, and assessment that is sponsored by the law schools at UA Little Rock, Washburn University, and the University of the Pacific. Prior to becoming a law professor, she practiced law for 12 years in a variety of settings, including private practice and state and federal government. She started her legal career as a trial attorney in the Civil Division of the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., and, after that, served as an assistant attorney general in the Criminal and Civil Departments of the Arkansas Attorney General’s Office. Immediately prior to joining the UA Little Rock Bowen faculty, she was a partner for several years in a mid-sized commercial law firm in Little Rock, where she focused on business litigation and supervised associate attorneys. Dean Terry teaches the Public Service Externship course and co-teaches a professional-identity formation course for first-year students called Lawyering Foundations.
Her expertise includes legal education, externship pedagogy, assessment, and access to justice. She is a co-author of Externship Pedagogy and Practice (Carolina Academic Press 2023), a co-author of Assessment of Teaching and Learning: A Comprehensive Guidebook for Law Schools (Carolina Academic Press 2021), and a co-editor of Experiential Education in the Law School Curriculum (Carolina Academic Press 2017). She has published articles in the Clinical Law Review, the Journal of Legal Education, and the Georgetown Journal on Poverty Law & Policy. Dean Terry has two publications forthcoming: From Student to Lawyer: An Integrated Approach to Professional Identity Formation in Law School (co-authored with Professors Kendall Kerew & Jerome Organ) and the fourth edition of Learning From Practice: A Text for Experiential Legal Education (co-edited with Professors Alexi Freeman, Kendall Kerew, and June Tai).
Education
- J.D., University of Arkansas School of Law, with high honors, 1994
- B.A. in English, Hendrix College, summa cum laude, 1991
Courses
- Public Service Externship
- Lawyering Foundations
Areas of Expertise
- Experiential legal education
- Externship pedagogy
- Assessment of teaching and learning
- Professional identity formation
- Legal education and curriculum design
- Public service and pro bono programs
Featured Scholarship
Externship Pedagogy and Practice (Carolina Academic Press 2023) (with Gillian Dutton, Kendall Kerew and Cynthia Wilson).
Assessment of Teaching and Learning: A Comprehensive Guidebook for Law Schools (Carolina Academic Press 2021) (with Gerald Hess, Emily Grant and Sandra Simpson).
Co-editor, Experiential Education in the Law School Curriculum (Carolina Academic Press 2018) (with Emily Grant and Sandra Simpson).
Honors & Awards
- Externship Achievement Award, AALS Externship Section, 2026
- Faculty Excellence Award for Research and Creative Endeavors, UA Little Rock, college level, 2023
- Faculty Excellence Award for Research and Creative Endeavors, UA Little Rock, college level, 2018
- Faculty Excellence Award for Teaching, UA Little Rock, college level, 2016
- Faculty Excellence Award for Public Service, UA Little Rock, college level, 2015
- Special Achievement Award, U.S. Department of Justice, 1996
Selected Service & Leadership
- Consultant, Institute for Law Teaching and Learning, 2021-present; Co-Director, 2013-21
- Member, Rule of Law Working Group, Holloran Center for Ethical Leadership in the Professions, 2024-present
- Member, Resources on Outcomes and Assessments Committee, ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar, 2021-present
- Board Member, American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas, 2012-15; Board Secretary and Executive Committee Member, 2013-15
- Executive Board Member, Arkansas Association of Women Lawyers, 2008-11
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