Adrienne Davis

Adrienne Davis is a William M. Van Cleve Professor in the School of Law and Professor of Organizational Behavior in Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis. She holds courtesy appointments in African and African-American Studies, History, Sociology, and Women, Gender & Sexuality Studies. A graduate of Yale College and Yale Law School, she served on the Yale Law Journal's Executive Committee.

• Education:
  • J.D., Yale Law School
  • B.A., Yale University

Her research explores how law regulates daily life, focusing on gendered and racialized dynamics in private law, reparations, feminist theory, and intersections of law and popular culture. She has taught Trusts & Estates, Contracts, and seminars on Slavery & the Law, Feminist Legal Theory, and Law & Literature, earning teaching awards at UNC.

Her scholarship examines the legal dimensions of American slavery, intimacy regulation, and cultural-legal justice distribution. She has published in top law reviews, co-edited Privilege Revealed, and led initiatives like the Law, Identity & Culture Initiative and the Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity & Equity.

Scientific Awards:

• 2016 Washington University Founders Day Distinguished Faculty Award
• 2015 Outlaw President’s Award for LGBTQ Diversity & Inclusion
• 2014 Black Law Student Association Inaugural President’s Award
• 2004 UNC Frederick B. McCall Award for Teaching Excellence
• 2017 Woman of Achievement, Arts Advocacy
• 2013 Women’s Justice Award, Legal Scholar
• Bellagio Fellowship (Rockefeller Foundation)

She received Ford Foundation grants for research on black women and labor, and women, slavery, sexuality, and religion. As Vice Provost for Faculty and Institutional Diversity (2010–2021), she shaped university policies and chaired the Commission on Diversity and Inclusion (2015–2017). Her civic roles include Secretary to the St. Louis Art Museum Board and Trustee positions in cultural institutions.