National Jurist - March 2009 - (Page 26) PHOTO BY KELLY AND MASSA PHOTOGRAPHY at the University of Tennessee College of Law in Knoxville. “At the time, I didn’t know that was possible, that it was something to reach for,” Ammons said. “I never forgot that experience.” At Widener, she says diversity “is an initiative that is central to our strategic initiatives at the law school as well as at the university. It is a major goal of this administration to develop a community where diversity is understood and where it is so seamless you don’t have to talk about it. It’s just evident in everything we do.” She agrees with other law school deans and faculty members who say law — or any other part of the humanities — can be taught without consideration of diversity. She says law is contextual, and what you see in the classroom sends a message. “When you look at the world, it is not one gender, one race, one anything,” Ammons said. “To me, it’s a no-brainer. It is part of the 21st Century, the way the world is flattening. It is essential to the way Donald Lewis, dean of Hamline University Law School, took over as the law school’s 10th dean last July. Prior to entering private practice, Lewis served for six years as an assistant U.S. attorney for the District of Minnesota, and a trial attorney in the Civil Rights Divison for the U.S. Department of Justice. He is also co-founder of the Minnesota Association of Black Lawyers. we reach across borders. “When we send legal professionals out into the world, we don’t know what kind of cases they’re going to have or where they’re going to work,” Ammons said. “That is why law students need to be culturally astute. The world is a big place, and we’re all a part of it.” Julie Spanbauer recalls that not too long ago, female faculty members were a rarity instead of a norm. Spanbauer, chair of the Faculty Selection and Appointments Committee at the John Marshall Law School in Chicago, Ill., has taught at the law school for 19 years. “I’ve seen a great deal of change in a positive way in terms of getting more women and minorities to join the faculty,” she said. For a law school to thrive, students need to see that diversity at work, Spanbauer added. When she first became a professor, she said students would comment about how she was a role model to other females. “There are instances in which students Wayne Law Every lawyer must pass the bar. Ours go on to raise it. 26 THE NATIONAL JURIST March 2009
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.