January 17, 2012
The Ronald H. Brown Center for Civil Rights and Economic
Development recently hosted a symposium titled “
Opening Doors: Making Diversity Matter in Law School
Admissions.” The timely and engaging day-long event drew over
80 people, including law school deans and admissions officers, bar
association members, pre-law advisors and St. John’s law students
and faculty members. Many others attended via a live webcast. A
collaborative venture of educators and administrators across a
range of institutions, the symposium was co-sponsored by the:
- Society of American Law Teachers (SALT)
- Ronald H. Brown Center for Civil Rights and Economic
Development at St. John’s School of Law
- Dean’s Diversity Council at Seton Hall Law School
- Center for Diversity in the Legal Profession
- CUNY Law School
- LatinoJustice PRLDEF
- Institute for Inclusion in the Legal Profession
- Journal of Civil Rights and Economic Development at
St. John’s School of Law
Photo Gallery
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The symposium addressed the lack of diversity in legal education
and examined many of the factors deterring college students of
color from applying to and gaining admission to law school. During
the first panel, Columbia Law School Professor Conrad Johnson noted
that while candidates of color have improved their LSAT scores and
GPAs, making them more attractive applicants, their “shut out rate”
is significantly higher than white candidates. Panelists then
attempted to explain this disturbing trend, discussing “stereotype
threat,” nonexistent or uninformed pre-law advising and the impact
of the U.S. News rankings and LSAT reporting
methodology.
Professor
Leonard M. Baynes, Director of The RHB Center, gave
a presentation on the Center’s award-winning pipeline
initiative, the Ronald H. Brown Prep Program for College Students.
Michael A. Simons, St. John’s Dean and John V. Brennan Professor of
Law and Ethics, then moderated the final panel on the U.S.
News methodology, addressing three important questions:
- Whether the U.S. News rankings should include diversity
- How these rankings could fairly incorporate diversity
- How law schools could lessen the rankings’ adverse impact on
the diversity of law schools and the legal profession
The panel featured a lively dialogue among UC Davis School of
Law Dean Kevin Johnson, Indiana University School of Law Professor
Jeffrey E. Stake, University of New Hampshire School of Law
Professor Sarah E. Redfield and Robert Morse, Director of Data
Research at U.S. News and World Report.
The day after the Symposium, The RHB Center hosted its third annual
Diversity Day and Admissions Fair. Keynoted by Congressman Charles
B. Rangel ’60, the event featured a mock admissions committee
review of four actual, but anonymous, law school applications.
Later in the day, Prep Program alumni discussed their experiences
at law schools across the nation. To close the event, admissions
officers from 40 law schools met and gave “speed interviews” to
Ronald H. Brown Prep Program students. The participating schools
included:
- American University
- Boston College
- Boston University
- Duke University
- Fordham University
- Howard University
- Loyola University New Orleans
- Penn State University
- St. John’s University
- SUNY Buffalo
- University of Connecticut
- University of Colorado
“I am pleased that The RHB Center took a leadership role in
organizing these events,” said professor Baynes. “Both provided a
full ventilation of these issues and proposed practical solutions
to the problems of minority underrepresentation in the legal
profession.”