ASU Law dean wins annual sustainability award

Sustainability experts and thought leaders gathered in Phoenix on Earth Day to honor the dean of the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University for her dedication to the field. 

Willard H. Pedrick Dean, Regents and Foundation Professor of Law Stacy Leeds was the 2024 recipient of the Radically Reimagining Award, thanks to her commitment to sustainability and her passion for agriculture and integrative wellness. The Radically Reimagining Initiative gave the award for the third year in a row, which brings together diverse groups to consider better possibilities to reimagine humans’ relationships with nature. The initiative is sponsored by The Institute of Humanities at ASU. 

Among many impressive accomplishments, Dean Leeds was the first woman to serve as a justice on the Cherokee Nation Supreme Court. She serves as dean emeritus at the University of Arkansas School of Law and was the first Indigenous woman to lead a law school in the U.S. She has served as ASU Law’s dean since 2023.

The award was presented to Dean Leeds by ASU Law Professor Karen Bradshaw, the founder and director of the initiative, at a local dinner on April 22 after a welcome toast given by Ron Broglio, professor of English and the director of the Humanities Institute at ASU.

“Dean Leeds is an incredible leader in international conversations about the relationship between people, lands and governance,” said Professor Karen Bradshaw, also the law school’s Mary Sigler Fellow. “At a time of tremendous political polarization, thought leaders like Stacy are doing vital work to reshape public understanding of how we interact with our natural world and one another.

Written by Lindsay Walker