Dr. Vanessa J. Lawrence
Associate Professor
Legal Studies in Business
Dr. Vanessa J. Lawrence is an Associate Professor in the Legal Studies Department. She graduated Summa Cum Laude with a B. S. degree in Mathematics from Morgan State University in Balt., MD and a J.D. degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Law. Prior to Temple, she worked with the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania and as Deputy City Solicitor for the City of Philadelphia.
Vanessa teaches a variety of law courses in the Legal Studies Department including Law and American Society, Real Estate Fundamentals, and African Americans: Equality & Law, which she developed. She also co-developed a course “Racial Discrimination Under the Law.”
Her areas of research involve real estate and issues of race. She has written articles including “Racial Discrimination in Nursing Home Care,” “Multiculturalism, Diversity, Cultural Pluralism…,” “An Academic Response to the Issue of Race,” and “Real Property Tax Abatement…” She also compiled the text “Racial Discrimination Under the Law,” written a chapter on “Race and the Law,” and was acknowledged by the late Honorable A. Leon Higginbotham, Jr. for her research assistance in his book “In the Matter of Color.” In recognition of her teaching, she received the Andrisani Frank Teaching Award. She received national recognition by Phi Alpha Delta, International for her service as faculty advisor. Vanessa is extremely active in her community including serving as President of the School Board of Education, member of both the Zoning Board and Vision Committee, and has received several recognitions for her service including the “Unsung Hero Award” from the NAACP.
