Author Spotlight: Ashley Krenelka Chase

Author's Spotlight, Book Sale, Law Libraries, Librarianship Breanne Callahan

Join us for a Q&A with best selling author Ashley Krenelka Chase as we discuss her title Millennial Leadership in Law Schools: Essays on Disruption, Innovation, and the Future.

Order this title by February 1, 2023 and save $10.00!

About the Author

Ashley Krenelka Chase is currently an Assistant Professor of Law at Stetson University College of Law, where she teaches legal research and writing. Previously, Ashley was the associate director of the Dolly & Homer Hand Law Library and the Coordinator of Legal Practice Technology at Stetson, where she worked with faculty to identify technology competencies for incoming and outgoing students and to ensure student success during law school and in the practice of law. Ashley’s scholarship focuses on the intersection of research, technology, and access to justice for incarcerated litigants.

Q&A with Ashley Krenelka Chase

Anyone that speaks with Ashley knows that she has a passion for what she does, but we wanted to know what inspires her, what challenges her, and what advice she has for other millennials. Check out her answers below!

I think it was most challenging to stop listening to the people who told me not to waste my time thinking about and writing about millennials in law schools! While the book on millennials in libraries was welcomed with open arms, I got a lot of pushback on this topic after I wrote my law review article (Ashley Krenelka Chase, Upending the Double Life of Law Schools: Millennials in the Legal Academy, 44 U. DAYTON L. REV. 1 (2018).) and worried that those voices would grow louder with the publication of this book. I’m delighted to say those fears were unfounded!
To put it bluntly: yes. But I do find that the resistance is well-intentioned. Those of us – myself included – who went to law school when there were no experiential education requires or attempts to increase diversity “turned out just fine,” and I think there’s a desire to honor the education we received by training our students in a similar way. I also think there’s a tendency to worry about trying to fit too much into the law school curriculum because we are worried about getting rid of anything, but I think that time has come!
I think millennials are the bridge that bring younger students and faculty together. Millennials – particularly those of us in the Oregon Trail generation that exists right between Gen X and Millennials – are remarkably flexible because technology changed so drastically when we were coming of age. The best chapters in the book are written by those who understand that this unique generational bridge brings its own unique skillset to law schools and should be welcomed in decision-making positions to help every voice on our campus be heard.
It was amazing. When I edited the book and wrote my chapter I was still in a staff position at Stetson, and I had the opportunity to “meet” incredible staff and faculty members from law schools around the country. Now that I’m in a faculty role, I value those relationships even more because we all need each other to keep the academy alive.

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Definitely. When I wrote about millennials in libraries, we were on our way to taking management positions, running start-ups that benefited libraries, and taking over major leadership positions in libraries. Now, we need to be encouraging significant Gen-Z leadership in libraries and encouraging millennials to mentor them to be great leaders, and to learn from them about how we can remain great leaders. I feel like law schools are at least 15 years behind! We still think of our students as being millennials, and that ship has sailed!
It was all remarkably self-serving (but I’m a narcissistic millennial, so that should’ve been the obvious answer). I found myself in a staff role where I was very quickly promoted into a management position, then found myself managing without much guidance or trust in the fact that I could do a good job because of my age. I remember waiting to turn 30 and hoping people would start taking me seriously. It only took another 5 or so years to feel like it was happening!
My goal was to give all of the millennials already working in law schools a voice, to remind people that we have valuable contributions, that we’re not all narcissists, and that we want to work together to make legal academia better. I do think it did some of that, and it has certainly sparked a conversation around the generational changes happening in the academy.
The biggest advantage is, I think, being old enough to respect the way things are done but young enough to believe that those things can be shaken up a bit and, possibly, made better. The disadvantage is that we are still in our 20s and 30s and we don’t have as much experience, and so we may fail more often than our colleagues of a different generation when we try new things.
It has really resonated with people who felt alone or uncomfortable discussing the ways in which their generation impacts the work they do in law schools. I once interviewed for a job where I talked about my research in this area, and when I was done somebody in administration said “you shouldn’t have talked about your age, it makes people uncomfortable.”  I responded “why, you’re going to talk about it behind my back, it’s better that we acknowledge the elephant in the room!”  Most millennials going up for promotions or seeking to advance their careers will have at least one person in the pool of applicants who is older or more experienced, and it’s nice to have a resource that says it’s ok to talk about who we are, why we’re different, and how we can benefit the institutions in which we seek to lead.
I think so. The book covers everything from imposter syndrome to myths surrounding millennials and technology, and those are pretty pervasive issues in a lot of professions. I am also always an advocate for learning about other generations, and I want as many people as possible to read the book!

Advice from Professor Chase for millennial leaders who experience resistance from members of other generations

To quote Empire Records:  Damn the man. Save the Empire. We need to remember that a big piece of generational divides stems from a person’s age at the time we’re discussing them and has absolutely nothing to do with the generation, itself. Most people find bright-eyed 20-year-olds to be a bit much, just as they find older people who have “always done things this way” to be annoying. Be yourself, advocate for yourself and what you can do for your institution, and most importantly DO THE WORK. People will notice your words if your actions match. Don’t give up, and keep making a good name for millennials.

Overview of the Title

This book explores the role millennials will play—as faculty, administrators, or staff members—in shaping the future of legal education, and what the academy can do to embrace the millennial generation as colleagues, not students. This book can be used to understand, guide, engage, mentor, and work with millennials to shape the next generation of excellent law school leaders.

Table of contents
“I strongly recommend that all law firm, library, and school administrators read at least a few essays in this book to learn how to better interact with millennials, whether employees or students, and how to aid them in developing their leadership roles. Hopefully, this will lead to more successful relationships and increase millennials’ employment satisfaction and wellbeing.”
Kim Clarke | Bennett Jones Law Library

Podcast Bonus!

Want to hear more about Millennial Leadership from Ashley Krenelka Chase herself, including her predictions for the future of legal education? Check out this recent podcast by EdUp Legal. 

LISTEN TO PODCAST

Millennial Leadership in Law Schools: Essays on Disruption, Innovation, and the Future
Author: Ashley Krenelka Chase
Item #: 1006925
ISBN: 978-0-8377-4136-9
Pages: xxi, 218 p.
1 Volume, perfect bound…….$99.00  $89.00
Published: Getzville; William S. Hein & Co., Inc.; 2021

Promo Code: CHASE2022
Discount Expires: February 1, 2023

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