Professor Alice Abreu Named Chair of the ABA Section of Taxation 

Professor Alice Abreu has been named Chair of the American Bar Association Section of Taxation. Professor Abreu, who also leads Temple’s Center for Tax Law and Public Policy and serves as the Hon. Nelson A. Díaz Professor of Law, is the first academic to serve in the role. She will lead the national organization for its 2024-2025 term. 

“My involvement with the ABA has been professionally transformative,” Professor Abreu said in a statement released by the ABA. “It has taught me about areas of the law I didn’t even know existed when I was practicing law, and what it has taught me has benefited hundreds of my students. I look forward to amplifying that experience for our members during my year as Chair.” 

Professor Abreu is a leading scholar of federal income tax law and policy. She has pioneered instruction in issues impacting low income taxpayers and written about increasing the diversity of  the tax bar. At Temple, she has worked to build awareness of the opportunities in tax practice for women, students of color, and first-generation students – as well as the need for their perspectives in shaping tax policy. “I love tax and I’d like every student to do likewise,” she said. “The tax law affects just about every aspect of our lives and reflects our most deeply held values. Although it may seem to be just about money, those who know the tax law know that it is really about what we value as a society. And those values should be informed by a tax bar whose diversity reflects that of American taxpayers themselves.” 

Professor Abreu has been a leader in both tax education and tax practice for more than forty years. At Temple, she has been honored with the 2017 Great Teacher Award (the highest award conferred by the university upon its faculty), the 2013 Murray F. Shusterman Award for excellence in teaching from the Temple Law Alumni Association, and the 2007 University Lindback award for distinguished teaching. She has been a visiting professor at a number of institutions, including Harvard Law School and the University of Pennsylvania Law School. Within the Section of Taxation, she has served as secretary, vice chair of publications, and chair-elect. Professor Abreu serves as a regent of the American College of Tax Counsel, a trustee of the American Tax Policy Institute and is a member of the American Law Institute. She also previously served on the Board of Directors of the Center for Taxpayer Rights, helmed by Nina Olson.