Mark to pursue research on access to justice initiatives during residency

Alyx Mark, North Central College assistant professor of political science, has been named Visiting Scholar at the American Bar Foundation (ABF), June through December 2016. She will pursue research in this role full time during the summer months and part time during fall term, while teaching at North Central.

The ABF is the nation’s leading research institute for the empirical study of the law. An independent, nonprofit organization for more than 60 years, the ABF seeks to advance the understanding and improvement of law through research projects of unmatched scale and quality on the pressing issues facing the legal system in the United States and the world.

During her residency at the ABF in Chicago, Mark will be joined with scholars from around the world. She will work on two projects. One extends her doctoral research on the legal empowerment of the poor by civil legal services organizations. The second seeks to encourage the growth of the access to justice research field through the development of interdisciplinary connections and dissemination of research in this area.

Mark has been engaged with the ABF since 2012 when she was invited to participate at an access to justice workshop cosponsored by the ABF and the National Science Foundation. “The ABF has a strong interest in access to justice and law and inequality research, and they encourage scholars like me to pursue study in this area,” says Mark. “There is a need to not only ‘do’ access to justice research, but to use those findings to develop meaningful solutions for those with civil justice needs.”

Serving as a Visiting Scholar, says Mark, will allow her to integrate her teaching and scholarship and provide more opportunities for North Central undergraduates to do research in the future.

Click here to view Mark's faculty profile.