Frances “Fran” Ansley, a beloved University of Tennessee College of Law professor and community activist, has passed away at the age of 77.
Ansley was known for her kindness and intelligence, and she dedicated her life to fighting for justice. Her work focused on issues such as factory closures, immigrant rights, and the future of education.
In recognition of her lifelong commitment to these causes, the Tennessee Law Review held a symposium in 2023 titled “Working Toward Justice on Difficult Ground.”
“She was an amazing person,” said Ansley’s husband, Jim Sessions, in an interview with Knox News. “Small and sometimes a bit fragile, but very tough. She had been battling stage four pancreatic cancer for two and a half years. Despite the odds, she remained strong until the end. Fran was an active, eloquent, and likable person. That was who she was.”
Sessions shared that Ansley passed away sometime on the night of January 14 or the morning of January 15. The UT College of Law announced her passing in a Facebook post on January 16.
Throughout her life, Ansley was a dedicated civil rights activist and organizer in Atlanta, Chicago, Boston, and Knoxville. She was fluent in Spanish and provided assistance to Spanish-speaking immigrants in Knoxville. Additionally, she played a key role in organizing the United Campus Workers at UT Knoxville.
Dean of UT’s College of Law, Lonnie Brown, expressed his admiration for Ansley: “When we met, Fran was too humble to tell me about her amazing accomplishments. I had to hear about it from others, and what I learned was breathtaking. Fran was a force who embodied what we should all strive to be as leaders, educators, and advocates. She will be greatly missed, but her legacy will live on in the countless lives she influenced.”
Ansley earned her bachelor’s degree from Harvard/Radcliffe College in 1969, followed by her law degree from UT in 1979 and her Master of Law from Harvard Law School in 1988.
She began teaching at UT in 1988 and retired in 2007. However, she never stopped working with students and maintained a scholarship. Ansley remained committed to her community and published work in law reviews. She also co-edited a book on Latino immigration to the Southeast and contributed to several interdisciplinary books on race, globalization, poverty, and gender.
Eric Amarante, a UT Law Professor, fondly remembered Ansley’s impact on her students: “Fran was everything I could hope for. She wrote with wonderful force, and her legal articles had an elegance that would put most fiction writers to shame. Her teaching was compassionate but challenging, and I envy the students who had the privilege of attending her classes. Their advocacy was fearless and relentless. No challenge was too great, no force too daunting. Above all, Fran was a dear friend. Saying I’ll miss her isn’t enough. Whether they know it or not, all of Tennessee will miss her.”
One of Amarante’s fondest memories of Ansley was sitting on her porch, discussing various topics while she received treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic. He marveled at her ability to be a “normal human being” while being intellectually brilliant.
Outside of her professional accomplishments, Ansley and her husband enjoyed hiking in the Smoky Mountains. Sessions described her special eye for natural beauty and how much the mountains meant to them.
Frances “Fran” Ansley is survived by her husband, Jim Sessions, two children, two grandchildren, and her brother Brad.
Keenan Thomas is a college reporter. Email [email protected] X, formerly known as Twitter @specialk2real.
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Published on January 19, 2024, at 6:07 PM UTC. Updated on January 19, 2024, at 7:30 PM UTC.
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