National Jurist - March 2009 - (Page 28) may be the first in their family to attend law school. They may look around in their first semester and see that they have only Caucasion professors,” Spanbauer said. “I’ve advised students to reach out to campus student organizations and get in touch with the faculty advisors. Suddenly, they feel like they have someone to go to, someone who identifies with them. It gives them a sense of being included.” Spanbauer said one of the greatest challenges for any law school is to attract diverse job candidates for its faculty. Among the most important things a law school can do is to simply set the bar high for diversity. “We search for a diverse pool of candidates to interview both locally and on national hiring levels. And we have a wonderful faculty who steps up all the time to help us in that department,” Spanbauer said. “Our faculty benefits too. It provides a richer discussion about our goals and projects we should be involved in as an institution. That is great for us and the law school as a whole,” Spanbauer said. JoAnne Epps, dean of Temple University Beasley School of Law, traveled to London in 2007 as the only law professor member of a nine-person American team which provided training to Sudanese lawyers representing victims of the Darfur crisis. She was appointed dean last July and plans a revision of third-year curriculum and more study abroad opportunities. Positive change goes a long way Jim Rosenblatt, dean of the Mississippi College School of Law, believes that the very essence of legal education is served when there are a variety of legal viewpoints included. That is essential to students and to the professors alike, he noted. To that end, Mississippi has created a diverse faculty based on geography, ethnicity and background. The law school has three minority faculty members — Professor Patricia Bennett and Angela Kupenda, who are African American, and Leticia Diaz, dean of Barry University School of Law, was awarded ImpreMedia Company’s first-ever Hispanic Women Who Make a Difference Award last spring. The award recognizes her contribution in her respective field and her active involvement in the Hispanic community. Diaz serves as advisor to the Hispanic American Law Student Association, a group she helped form in 1995 and has advised ever since. REMARKABLY DIVERSE WITH UNMATCHED ALOHA www.hawaii.edu/law 28 THE NATIONAL JURIST March 2009 Assistant Professor Alina Ng, who is Asian American. Rosenblatt said these professors — along with Mississippi’s administration and staff — invest heavily in mentoring students, advising them and serving as inspirational role models. “Our personal viewpoints are shaped by our environment, upbringing, education and experiences. To be able to consider a variety of viewpoints in the analysis of a law, a case or a factual situation is essential,” Rosenblatt said. “Whether picking a jury, interviewing a client or witness, or working with counsel on a multi-district case, it is essential that an attorney be able to appreciate how others see and understand an issue or interpret a factual situation,” Rosenblatt added. “This ability must be taught and employed during one’s legal education and is certainly advanced by having diverse opinions and backgrounds from which to draw.” Rosenblatt insists that a diverse faculty is a key component to this process not only in drawing from their own backgrounds, but also in ensuring that different student views are brought to the discussion and given value and relevance. Johnson is the first Latino dean ever at a University of California professional school. He said there also are Latinos in the leadership at Denver and St. Mary University’s law schools. When Johnson arrived in 1992, there were no minority members on the law school’s faculty (there had been some in the past, but they had left, Johnson noted). Since then, he proudly said, the UC Davis faculty has become increasingly diverse. For instance, the law school has approximately 11 Asian-American faculty — more than any law school in the United States, including Hawaii. This number is essential in particular because his law school has a student body that is about 25 to 30 percent Asian American every year. So having the appropriate student to faculty radio helps draw students and well-respected professors to the campus. Another reason Johnson cares about minority representation in UC-Davis’s faculty is it helps the law school’s students earn jobs. He said the law community wants a more diverse cadre of lawyers. “A more diverse student body is necessary to satisfy this goal,” Johnson said. “A diverse faculty is necessary to attract and retain a diverse student body. Thus, this system is all interrelated.” ■ http://www.hawaii.edu/law http://www.hawaii.edu/law
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