andré douglas pond cummings

André Douglas Pond Cummings is Dean and Professor of Law at Widener University Commonwealth Law School, effective June 2024. Previously, he served as Associate Dean for Faculty Development and Charles C. Baum Professor of Law at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law. His teaching spans Business Associations, Contracts, Corporate Justice, Entertainment Law, Policing & Use of Force, and Hip Hop & the American Constitution. He co-founded the Center for Racial Justice and Criminal Justice Reform at Bowen Law. Before academia, he clerked for Chief Judge Joseph W. Hatchett (11th Circuit) and Chief Justice Christine M. Durham (Utah Supreme Court), and practiced corporate law at Kirkland & Ellis LLP, specializing in mergers, acquisitions, and sports/entertainment industry representation.

Education: BS from Brigham Young University, JD cum laude from Howard University School of Law. Admitted to multiple state and federal bars (inactive status in some). Recognized as Professor of the Year and recipient of the West Virginia University Foundation’s Distinguished Professor Award, plus three Excellence Awards at Bowen Law for Social Justice, Research/Scholarship, and Public Service.

Research focuses on investor protection, racial/social justice, and sports/entertainment law. Published in Washington University Law Review, Indiana Law Journal, and others. Authored three books, including an upcoming 2025 Cambridge University Press work on drug policy reform. Extensive visiting professorships include University of Iowa, University of Utah, Syracuse, Temple Tokyo, and institutions in Brazil and Mexico.