Fall 2011 Symposium Call for Papers
Opening Doors: Making Diversity Matter in Law School Admissions
Host
Society of American Law Teachers
Date
Friday, November 11, 2011
Location
St. John’s School of Law, Queens, NY
Co-Sponsors
Host
Society of American Law Teachers
Date
Friday, November 11, 2011
Location
St. John’s School of Law, Queens, NY
Co-Sponsors
- The Ronald H. Brown Center for Civil Rights and Economic Development, St. John’s School of Law
- Journal of Civil Rights and Economic Development, St. John’s School of Law
- Dean’s Diversity Council, Seton Hall University School of Law
- Center for Diversity in the Legal Profession, City University of New York School of Law
About the Symposium
There is a consensus among law school deans and professors that diversity enhances the educational experiences of law students. The U.S. Supreme Court in Grutter v. Bollinger recognized that diversity is critical in developing the future leadership of the United States. However, two factors often adversely affect the success of law school diversity initiatives: (1) the U.S. News and World Report rankings methodology often cause law schools to overemphasize LSAT and GPA credentials of the admitted students, which adversely affects students of color; and (2) the absence or ineffectiveness of pre-law advisement for college students of color.
Currently U.S. News and World Report’s rankings methodology for law schools does not include diversity, although the magazine has a separate ranking for the most diverse law schools. In response to the suggestion that adding various diversity-related measures would improve the ranking methodology and related results, U.S. News and World Report rankings expert Robert Morse has expressed concerns about the feasibility of including a diversity measure in the U.S. News ranking formula in a fair and meaningful way. According to Morse, there are several key questions to address:
There is a consensus among law school deans and professors that diversity enhances the educational experiences of law students. The U.S. Supreme Court in Grutter v. Bollinger recognized that diversity is critical in developing the future leadership of the United States. However, two factors often adversely affect the success of law school diversity initiatives: (1) the U.S. News and World Report rankings methodology often cause law schools to overemphasize LSAT and GPA credentials of the admitted students, which adversely affects students of color; and (2) the absence or ineffectiveness of pre-law advisement for college students of color.
Currently U.S. News and World Report’s rankings methodology for law schools does not include diversity, although the magazine has a separate ranking for the most diverse law schools. In response to the suggestion that adding various diversity-related measures would improve the ranking methodology and related results, U.S. News and World Report rankings expert Robert Morse has expressed concerns about the feasibility of including a diversity measure in the U.S. News ranking formula in a fair and meaningful way. According to Morse, there are several key questions to address:
- Does diversity include both economic and ethnic diversity?
- Should diversity be linked to an academic quality as opposed to a social goal?
- Can schools in ethnically diverse states be compared to those in less diverse states?
- How would a diversity measure rank historically black law schools?
- Should private schools be measured against the same yardstick as public law schools?
Students of color, especially those who are first-generation college students, often lack access to the personal and professional networks they need to guide them to and through the law school admissions process. As a result, it is crucial that this population receives quality pre-law advisement. There are few empirical studies on the effectiveness of this kind of counseling. But existing studies show that students of color come late to the law school application process. This delay undermines acceptances and the availability of scholarship dollars. Studies also show that pre-law students, irrespective of race, tend to distrust their pre-law advisors and find their advice less trustworthy than advice offered by peers. This lack of trust is likely compounded by the complexity of trans-racial conversations between pre-law students of color and white pre-law advisors. There is also anecdotal information suggesting that some students of color are ill advised about the admissions process.
This symposium aims to:
This symposium aims to:
- Think through possible reforms of the U.S. News & World Report rankings methodology to make it more inclusive of diversity
- Identify or develop studies highlighting special issues in advising students of color
- Develop and promote adoption of model pre-law counseling techniques for students of color
- Invitation to Participate
Invitation to Submit Papers
The Journal of Civil Rights and Economic Development, the official publication of The Ronald H. Brown Center for Civil Rights and Economic Development, will publish an issue on topics related to the symposium. We invite legal educators and others to submit essays and articles discussing:
The Journal of Civil Rights and Economic Development, the official publication of The Ronald H. Brown Center for Civil Rights and Economic Development, will publish an issue on topics related to the symposium. We invite legal educators and others to submit essays and articles discussing:
- How the U.S. News and World Report could incorporate diversity into its rankings methodology in a fair and meaningful way
- Studies on special issues present when advising college students of color about law school admissions
- Model practices for pre-law advisement of students of color
Submission Guidelines
If you would like to contribute a paper to be considered for the Journal’s symposium issue, please submit an abstract of 250 words or less through our online abstract submission form or by email to AaronBarhamJCRED@gmail.com. The abstract submission deadline is October 1, 2011. Selected authors must submit their finished papers to the Journal no later than January 15, 2012.
More Information
For more information on the symposium and this Call for Papers, please contact Aaron Barham, Research and Symposium Editor for the Journal of Civil Rights and Economic Development, atAaronBarhamJCRED@gmail.com or .
If you would like to contribute a paper to be considered for the Journal’s symposium issue, please submit an abstract of 250 words or less through our online abstract submission form or by email to AaronBarhamJCRED@gmail.com. The abstract submission deadline is October 1, 2011. Selected authors must submit their finished papers to the Journal no later than January 15, 2012.
More Information
For more information on the symposium and this Call for Papers, please contact Aaron Barham, Research and Symposium Editor for the Journal of Civil Rights and Economic Development, atAaronBarhamJCRED@gmail.com or .
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