Alice Gresham Bullock

Dean and Professor Emerita

J.D., 1975, Howard University
B.S., 1972, Howard University

Biography

Alice Gresham Bullock is professor of law and former Dean at the Howard University School of Law, where she has been a member of the faculty since 1979.

Her fields of expertise are federal taxation, wills, trusts and estates, and she has a distinguished record nationally as a highly regarded resource on these topics. She is also known as a leader in higher education and legal education, in particular.

Ms. Gresham Bullock served as Dean of the Howard University School of Law from 1997 through 2002. She previously held the position of Interim Dean from 1996-1997, Acting Dean in 1990 and Associate Dean of Academic Affairs from 1988 until 1992.

The School of Law realized several remarkable achievements under her leadership, management and vision as Dean. An impressive new state-of-the-art, four-story, 76,000 square-feet library was constructed. Giving by the School’s alumni increased fivefold. Admission standards were strengthened and a new student recruitment program was launched, resulting in increased quality and quantity of students who enrolled in the School. Ninety-seven percent of all graduates were successfully placed in employment. Several major renovation projects for the physical plant were completed. Information technology was also enhanced, creating improved academic administration and programs. The School underwent a vigorous accreditation review process under the scrutiny of the American Bar Association, resulting in the School earning continued accreditation.

In addition, Ms. Gresham Bullock was recognized by the Association of American Law Schools (AALS), which appointed her Deputy Director, and she served in that capacity from 1992 until 1994. While there, she implemented educational policy and program initiatives on behalf of 179 AALS member law schools, staffed major working committees, developed programs for professional development, and oversaw activities focused on the development of curriculum and research, among other activities. In particular, she worked on developing effective strategies for recruiting faculty of color for the nation’s law schools.

A frequent lecturer nationally and internationally on issues of tax, social policy, professional responsibility and legal education, Ms. Gresham Bullock has published articles in journals on a wide range of issues including income taxation, philanthropy, legal issues in mental health and minority faculty recruitment.

Her article, “Taxes, Social Policy and Philanthropy: The Untapped Potential of Middle and Lower-Income Taxpayers,” has been cited frequently as exposing the disparate impact on Americans of color by the charitable contribution deduction, which she argues amounts to a tax subsidy of the rich.

Ms. Gresham Bullock has accumulated numerous awards during her career recognizing her achievements as a lawyer and an educator. The National Bar Association conferred on her its Gertrude B. Rush Award in 2004, citing her as a model of excellence in legal education and persistence in the law, public policy and activism. In 1999, Suffolk University awarded her an Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree.

The National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education presented her with its President’s Distinguished Service Award in 1997. She also received Outstanding Service Awards from the Howard Student Bar Association in 1996 and the National Bar Association in 1980. She was selected for the Outstanding Dean Award by the Mid-Atlantic Faculty of Color in 2000, and was named “One of the Most Powerful Women in Washington” by Washingtonian Magazine in 2001.

A Fellow of the American Bar Foundation and an elected member of the American Law Institute, Ms. Gresham Bullock serves on the National Advisory Board of the National Underground Freedom Center and is an independent director on the Board of Directors of the Calvert Group, a leading mutual fund company in the area of socially responsible investments. She is also a member of the Board of Trustees of the North Country School, a member of Leadership Washington and is Vice-Chair of the Montgomery County, Maryland Charter Review Commission.

Ms. Gresham Bullock is the mother of two children attending college.

Selected Publications

“Intervivos Gifts”, Basic Estate Tax Planning, MICPEL (2005)

Challenges Facing the Legal Profession: Perceptions of Divided Justice, 23 Suffolk U.L. Rev. 1 (2000).

125 Years of Women in the Legal Profession: The Legacy of Charlotte E. Ray - Confronting the Credibility Problem (In Progress)

“Taxes, Social Policy and Philanthropy: The Untapped Generosity of Low and Middle Income Taxpayers,” 6 Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy 325 (1997)

“A Dean’s Role in Supporting Recruitment of Minority Faculty,” 10 St. Louis U. Pub. L. Rev. 347 (1991)

“Taxes,” Legal Rights of Children, Horowitz and Davidson, eds. (1984)

“Legal Issues in Mental Health,” Handbook of Mental Health and Mental Disorder Among Black Americans, Dorothy Smith-Ruiz, ed. (1990)

“Safe Harbor Leasing” 19 New Eng. L. Rev. 1 (1984)