Franita Tolson

Dean and Carl Mason Franklin Chair in Law, University of Southern California Gould School of Law

Franita Tolson is the Dean and the Carl Mason Franklin Chair in Law at University of Southern California Gould School of Law and an expert in the areas of election law, constitutional law, legal history, and employment discrimination. Tolson is an active member of ACS and has demonstrated a deep commitment to its amplifying its network beyond the national nonprofit’s West Coast affiliates.

Previously, Tolson was the Betty T. Ferguson Professor of Voting Rights at Florida State University College of Law and a Visiting Assistant Professor at Northwestern University School of Law. Tolson’s research has been featured in the nation’s leading law reviews, including The Notre Dame Law Review, University of Pennsylvania Law Review, Boston University Law Review, and Vanderbilt Law Review, and she has served as a contributor and issue expert for various media organizations, including Reuters, Bloomberg Law, The Hill, and HuffPost.

Tolson clerked for both the Honorable Ann Claire Williams of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and Chief Judge Ruben Castillo of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. She earned her B.A. from Truman State University and her J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School.