December 09, 2005
Bolstered by $70,000 in grants, St. John’s University School of
Law Summer
Prep Program, which encourages disadvantaged college youth to
consider legal careers, is expanding from four days to three weeks.
The brainchild of School of Law Professor
Leonard M. Baynes, the Summer Prep Program ran for the first
time last summer, supported by a $5,000 grant from St. John’s. His
colleagues at the School of Law taught classes as volunteers; this
year, for the expanded program, they’ll be paid.
The program is run under the auspices of the Ronald
H. Brown Center for Civil Rights and Economic Development,
which Professor Baynes directs. “Ron Brown ’70L was a graduate of
St. John’s School of Law,” says Professor Baynes, speaking about
the late Secretary of Commerce under President Clinton. “His
daughter Tracy L. Brown ’92L also graduated from the Law School and
is a practicing attorney in New York City at The Cochran Firm. She
presented her memoirs and certificates of completion to
college students who participated in our Summer Prep Program.”
Summer Prep Program Expands
A $60,000 grant from the New York Community Trust and
$10,000 from the Beatrice R. and Joseph A. Coleman Foundation will
make possible a lengthened program of two weeks of classes and a
one-week internship. Four New York City colleges—St. John’s and
three City University of New York Colleges: John Jay College
of Criminal Justice, Medgar Evers College and York College -- will
continue to nominate promising college students who have a genuine
interest in attending law school.
These grants come on the heels of a $50,000 Ford
Foundation grant Professor Baynes obtained to support a
symposium the Ronald H. Brown Center is sponsoring: “Rethinking
the Discourse on Race: A Symposium on How the Lack of Racial
Diversity in the Media Affects Social Justice and Policy,”
April 28-29, 2006. Those who would like to address the conference
are invited to submit their proposals by January 15.
“Knowledge is the first step towards changing attitudes,” says
Professor Baynes, who has served as a scholar-in-residence at the
Federal Communications Commission, where he worked exclusively
on media diversity issues. In total, Professor Baynes has brought
in $120,000 in grant money in just the past four months to support
some of the Ronald H. Brown Center’s programs.
“St. John’s is a national leader with the Ron Brown Summer Prep
Program,” says Professor Baynes, who, as the son of Caribbean
immigrants who never attended college, received his law degree from
Columbia University. “The civil rights movement used the law to
break down racial barriers in our society,” he says. “Now we must
take action to increase diversity within the legal profession. The
first step is encouraging students to consider going into law.”
Part of the problem, he adds, is that “students of color receive
such bad advice. They don’t have access to role models or
mentors.” Professor Baynes, who says he knew from an early
age that he wanted to be an attorney, says it was “by accident”
that he made some beneficial choices.
“Students of color don’t realize the importance of a good score
on the LSAT [Law School Admissions Test] in getting into law
school,” he says. “Many schools keep raising the LSAT scores, which
makes it more difficult for many minority students to get in.”
He describes the Ronald H. Brown Summer Prep Program in an
article he wrote for Business
Law Today (Nov./Dec.), an American Bar Association
magazine, entitled “Don’t let the present dictate the future: A
program for disadvantaged youths who might consider a career in
law”:
“During the four days, the students learned about constitutional
law, criminal law, international law, criminal law, immigration
law, legal research and writing and legal ethics. They also had
three hours of LSAT review. The students met with our admissions
officers and a career panel of recent law school graduates…. 97
percent of the students responded that they were more likely to
apply to law school after completing the program.”
St. John’s Embraces Diversity
St. John’s School of Law is embracing diversity, says
Professor Baynes, citing the 2005 first-year class of 27 percent
students of color, and 9 faculty members of color.
The School of Law awards financial assistance in the form of
educational loans and need-based aid to 82 percent of all students.
It also awards merit scholarships to 56 percent of all full-time
students that range from partial to full tuition. This high level
of financial support benefits minorities and others who are
economically disadvantaged and otherwise might not be able to
attend.
“Recognizing the achievements of minority graduates will also
help to encourage diversity,” says Professor Baynes, who has put
together the School of Law's first Alumni of
Color Reunion, set for February 10-11, 2006. In honor of the
School of Law's 80th anniversary, 58 alumni of color who graduated
before 1965 will receive Pioneer Awards “to recognize their
accomplishments, but acknowledge the role discrimination played,
and still plays in the lives of our graduates of color,” the
brochure states. There are more than 1,000 alumni of color who have
graduated since 1965.
The Alumni of Color Reunion Weekend will also include
informative panels featuring experts on career advancement; the 8th
Annual Ronald H. Brown Alumni Dinner with a keynote address by
Congressman Charles Rangel ’60L, ’83HON, who will receive a special
Dean’s award; awards to law students of color; outstanding service
awards to retired faculty of color; and plenty of networking.