Description
The Broadening Access through Law-Attentive Design (BALAD) project is a professional learning series and community of practice designed to provide actionable guidance and resources that higher education leaders can utilize to broaden access and opportunity for students on college and university campuses.
About
In this rapidly evolving legal and political environment, the Broadening Access through Law-Attentive Design (BALAD) project is designed to provide actionable guidance, tools, and a supportive learning community for higher education leaders (e.g., chief enrollment officers, deans, provosts, academic program leaders) and university counsels.
BALAD is a collaborative project led by experts from the University of Southern California, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and EducationCounsel. By combining legal expertise, research-based practices, and innovative policy approaches, this project will empower institutions to develop legally compliant and equal-opportunity-focused strategies tailored to their unique contexts.
The project team will develop a suite of resources and organizational learning opportunities to meet institutions’ need for expert guidance in the development of law-attentive policies and practices in graduate and undergraduate education, particularly in the STEM fields.
BALAD Webinar Series
A Five-part Professional Learning Series for Higher Education Leaders and University Counsel
Join experts in law, research, and policy for a six-session online webinar series focused on designing law-attentive, mission-aligned approaches to broaden access and opportunity for students on college and university campuses.
Universities everywhere are designing and implementing institutional policy and practice in a changing legal and policy landscape, while striving to uphold core mission-related access and opportunity goals. Grounded in legal expertise and research-informed practice, this webinar series is designed to support campus leaders, faculty, and staff as they navigate the evolving federal and state policy landscape. Each session centers on practical strategies that are attentive to current law (including state law trends), as well as organizational mission and context—helping leaders move forward with greater clarity, confidence, and purpose.
All sessions will be hosted live on Zoom. Each session will include a presentation, followed by a live Q&A and a facilitated discussion with the presenters. The emphasis throughout the series is on translating insight into action with practical recommendations: what campuses can do, how they can do it, and how to proceed thoughtfully in today’s higher education landscape.
February 17, 2026: Leading From Mission — Aligning Governance, Strategy and Action
As a foundational session for this series, this session will address the necessary alignment between mission and admission in the current legal and policy environment and the imperative of written clarity in policy development. With an emphasis on alignment among counsel, staff, and faculty, as well as on legal defensibility, speakers will share outlines and templates that frame key issues that institutions should consider in their policy and practice design and articulation.
Panelists:
Art Coleman, Founding Partner, EducationCounsel
Jamie Lewis Keith, Distinguished Senior Law and Policy Fellow, EducationCounsel
Moderator:
Steve Desir, Assistant Research Professor, USC Pullias Center for Higher Education
Upcoming BALAD Webinars
Session 2: March 17, 2026, 12pm PT
Managing Risk, Responsibility, and Mission: Law-Attentive Decision-Making in Practice
This session explores how leaders can make thoughtful, mission-aligned decisions about how their institutions operate and move forward, amidst heightened scrutiny and legal uncertainty. Panelists will share practical approaches for anchoring decisions in mission while balancing compliance, institutional aims, and forward movement with clarity, purpose, and law-attentive action. Participants will gain practical guidance on making thoughtful, law-attentive decisions that balance compliance, mission, and institutional responsibility
Speakers:
Art Coleman, Founding Partner, EducationCounsel
Jamie Lewis Keith, Distinguished Senior Law and Policy Fellow, EducationCounsel
Mark Your Calendars:
Session 3: April 14, 2026, 12pm PT
Communicating with Purpose: Explaining the What, Why, and How of Institutional Action
Session 4: APRIL 29, 2026, 12pm PT
Designing for Durability: Developing Sustainable Policy in a Shifting Landscape
Session 5: May 14, 2026 12pm PT
Change as Process: Navigating Politics, Timing, and Institutional Context
Project Team
Steve Desir
Principal Investigator,
Assistant Research Professor, USC
Jerry Lucido
Co-PI,
Professor Emeritus, USC
Emily Chung
Managing Director,
USC Pullias Center for Higher Education
Julie Posselt
Professor, USC
Travis York
Center for STEMM Education & Workforce, AAAS
Erin Conn
SEA Change, AAAS
Partners
EducationCounsel is a mission-driven education consulting firm that works with leading nonprofit organizations, foundations, and policymakers at all levels to help significantly improve education opportunity and outcomes.
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) fulfills its mission to advance science and serve society through initiatives in science policy, diplomacy, education, career support, public engagement with science, and more.
Funder
The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation is a not-for-profit, mission-driven grant-making institution dedicated to improving the welfare of all through the advancement of scientific knowledge. Established in 1934 by Alfred Pritchard Sloan Jr., then-President and Chief Executive Officer of the General Motors Corporation, the Foundation makes grants in four broad areas: direct support of research in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and economics; initiatives to increase the quality and diversity of scientific institutions and the science workforce; projects to develop or leverage technology to empower research; and efforts to enhance and deepen public engagement with science and scientists.
