Yael Bromberg, adjunct professor of law at American University in Washington, D.C., is a co-recipient of the 2026 Frederic W. Ness Book Award from the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U). She shares the honor with Jonathan Becker, acting president and professor of political studies at Bard College, for their co-edited book, Youth Voting Rights: Civil Rights, the Twenty-Sixth Amendment, and the Fight for American Democracy on College Campuses (De Gruyter Brill, 2025).
The annual award honors a book that best illuminates the goals and practices of a contemporary liberal education. Professors Bromberg and Becker will receive their award on January 21, 2027, during the AAC&U Annual Meeting in Seattle.
Youth Voting Rights examines the history of the Twenty-Sixth Amendment and the ongoing struggle to protect and expand voting rights for young people in the United States. Drawing from various college and university case studies, the book explores the role that students, colleges, and universities — particularly historically Black colleges and universities — have played in the fight for suffrage and the evolution of voting rights. Notably, Youth Voting Rights is also accessible as a free, open education resource. It is accompanied by the collaborative course, “The Struggle for Voting Rights at Colleges,” which includes lectures from the book’s authors and contributors, short documentaries, and teaching case studies.
“We are deeply humbled to receive this award, and immensely grateful to our fellow authors whose vital expertise brought this narrative to life,” said Bromberg. “By tracing the evolution of voting rights and the unfulfilled promises of the Twenty-Sixth Amendment, Youth Voting Rights for the first time examines legal precedents secured by college communities, and positions youth and their multigenerational allies as constitutional architects. We examine the power of organizing, advocacy, research, and litigation to catalyze hope and civic agency today.”
Bromberg currently teaches democracy law at the Washington College of Law of American University and serves as a scholar in residence at Bard College. She previously taught at the Georgetown University Law Center Civil Rights Clinic and Rutgers Law School. An expert on voting rights, Bromberg also practices as a constitutional rights attorney, representing individuals, organizations, political candidates, and unions in state and federal courts across the country. She has more than 20 years of experience in community organizing, advocacy, and campaigns.
A graduate of the former Douglass College at Rutgers University in New Jersey, Bromberg holds a master of laws degree from Georgetown University and a juris doctorate from Rutgers Law School.