The University of Tennessee College of Law is welcoming two new faculty members this semester.
Professor Sherley Cruz has joined the Legal Clinic faculty where she will lead students in the Advocacy Clinic.
Cruz is a past practitioner-in-residence with American University’s Washington College of Law’s Civil Advocacy Clinic where she supervised law students on economic justice cases such as wage theft, debt claims, and related housing matters.
She also served as the director of litigation and education and as a clinical fellow at Suffolk University Law School. There she supervised law students handling housing discrimination cases and conducted community legal education regarding fair housing duties and responsibilities. Her scholarship explores the intersections of access to justice, low-wage workers’ rights, and cross-cultural competency.
Prior to her academic career, Cruz practiced employment law as a staff attorney at Greater Boston Legal Services. She earned her J.D. from Boston University School of Law and was born in the Dominican Republic. She is the College of Law’s first Latino faculty hire.
Professor Shamika Dalton comes to the College of Law as the associate director of the Katz Law Library and assists with the library’s daily operations.
Dalton began her career as a reference librarian at the University of Florida Levin College of Law Legal Information Center in 2012 and rose through the ranks to become the associate director for public services and professor of legal research.
She has dedicated her research and professional service to celebrating the contributions of law librarians of color, educating the profession about the importance of racial diversity, and advocating for cultural competency in legal research instruction.
In July 2019, she received the Joseph L. Andrews Award for her book “Celebrating Diversity: A Legacy of Minority Leadership in the American Association of Law Libraries.”