November 06, 2009
The
Ronald H. Brown Center, led by
Professor Leonard M. Baynes, the Director, and
Professor Janai S. Nelson, the Assistant Director, is the
premier academic think tank on issues of racial, social and
economic justice in the country. The Ronald H. Brown Center was
established in 2000 to honor the memory of its namesake, Ronald H.
Brown, a 1970 graduate from St. John’s University School of
Law. Brown was the first African-American partner at Patton
Boggs LLP, the first African-American to serve as Chair of the
Democratic National Committee, and the first African-American
Secretary of Commerce in the Clinton Administration.
As part of its scholarly mission,
The Ronald H. Brown Center annually holds cutting edge symposia
on issues of racial, social, economic justice. On
November 13-14, 2009, the Ronald H. Brown Center and its
affiliated scholarly journal, the Journal of Civil Rights and Economic Development, will
hold a symposium to celebrate Ronald H. Brown’s 40th anniversary
from St. John’s School of Law. On November 13, 2009, the symposium
will feature presentations by twenty-five St. John’s law faculty on
modern adaptations of racial, social and economic justice. There
will be panels on: (1) Contemporary Racial Justice Issues;
(2) Immigration and International Issues of Racial, Social and
Economic Justice: (3) Contemporary Social Justice Issues; (4)
Contemporary Social Justice Issues; and (5) Procedural Pathways to
Social, Racial and Economic Justice.
Symposium Web site
Symposium Agenda
Session Question Submission Form
Live Simulcast
On November 14, 2009, the symposium will focus on diversity in the
legal profession. On that date, the panel topics and activities
will include: (1) the latest research and programs designed to
increase diversity in the legal profession; (2) successful high
school students from the Ronald H. Brown/Legal Outreach Program
designed to develop Queens high school students; (3) successful law
school students who are alumni of the Ronald H. Brown Prep Program;
and (4) a law school admissions fair for college
students.
The upcoming conference is one in a line of successful symposia
hosted by the Ronald H. Brown Center and the Journal of Civil
Rights and Economic Development. In 2008 the Center and
the Journal held a highly lauded conference focused on the
presidential election entitled, “Race, Gender, and the Media in the
2008 Elections.” That was followed by a conference on
March 20, 2009, entitled “Thinking Outside the Box: New Challenges
and New Approaches to Domestic Violence.” And on March 5,
2010, the Center and the Journal will hold a symposium
entitled “The Fall of the Economy and How New York City Can Rise to
the Challenge,” featuring noted academics, politicians, and
advocates.
Besides being an academic think tank, the Ronald H. Brown Center
runs some of the most innovative and successful pipeline programs
in the country. The
Ronald H. Brown Prep Program is a two-year program designed to
increase law school admissions opportunities for first generation
college students from underrepresented backgrounds. During the
course of the Prep Program, the students take an array of law
school classes, do internships with state court judges and other
legal employers, e.g., the District Attorneys offices, the New York
State Attorney General’s Office, the New York Corporation Counsel,
Hughes Hubbard & Reed, LLP, and AXA Equitable Legal Department.
During their junior year, the students take a specially designed
LSAT course, which includes professional LSAT instruction,
mandatory homework sessions with specially trained law school
student tutors, motivational sessions, overcoming barriers
counseling, and personal statement workshops. The Prep Program has
been able to increase the students LSAT scores by an average of 10
points and has placed almost 90% of the students in some of the
most competitive law schools across the country including Yale,
UCLA, George Washington, Boston College, and St. John’s.
Through its Research Professorship and Senior Fellow Program, The
Ronald H. Brown Center also grooms promising attorneys from
underrepresented backgrounds to enter legal academia. Through its
Administrative Fellow Program, the Center also grooms promising
attorneys in higher education administration.
For more information on the Ronald H. Brown Center, the 40th
Anniversary Weekend, or its programs and other symposia, please
click here or contact Ms. Dawn Bell by telephone at (718)
990-8076 or by email at englerd@stjohns.edu.