A University of Hawaii professor has been named dean of the University of Maine School of Law.

The UMaine law school announced Friday that Danielle Conway, a professor of business law at the University of Hawaii’s William S. Richardson School of Law, will assume her new role July 1.

Conway has earned a reputation as a leading expert in public procurement law, entrepreneurship, and as an advocate for minorities and indigenous peoples, according to a Maine law school statement.

Conway will be the law school’s seventh dean since its founding in 1962. She will become the first African-American to lead Maine’s only law school.

She also has more than 20 years of active and reserve duty service with the U.S. Army, and currently serves as a lieutenant colonel.

“I’m both thrilled and honored to be named the next dean of the University of Maine School of Law. The school is a resource that is vital to the University of Maine System, and to the broader community,” Conway said.

Jeffrey Maine of the law school chaired the seven-member committee during its national search for the school’s next dean.

“Professor Conway is an ideal match for the aspirations of our Maine Law community, and we feel incredibly fortunate she has chosen to join us as our next dean,” he said in a statement. “She is an accomplished teacher, lawyer, scholar, and innovator. As director of the Procurement Institute, and as an officer in the U.S. Army Reserves, she also brings the administrative experience we were looking for. We’re excited and confident that Professor Conway is the leader we need to advance Maine Law during this critical time for legal education.”

Conway graduated from the Stern School of Business at New York University, Howard University School of Law, and earned a LL.M. degree from George Washington University School of Law. She was the Godfrey Visiting Scholar at the University of Maine School of Law in 2008.

This story will be updated.