Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee
2022-2023 Academic Year
Theme: Reviewing Legal Implications of Race, Building Community, and Cultivating Cultural Humility
Focus: Community, Legal heritage (implications, history, complications of legal treatment of race), and cultural humility.
In general, this year’s focus is on community, legal heritage (implications, history, complications of legal treatment of race) and cultural humility.
DEI Committee (2022-2023 Academic Year)
Faculty
- Romie Griesmer
- Sara Hildebrand
- Cathy Kilian
- Alicia Kelly, Ex Officio, Interim Dean
- Luke Scheuer, Co-chair
Administrators
- Joseph Farris, Co-Chair, Assistant Dean for DEI
- LeaNora Ruffin, Assistant Dean for Career Development
Alumni
- Carlene Clark (‘19)
- Jocelyn Mendez (‘21)
- Adam Gershen (‘22)
Student Representatives
- Claritza Cruz (2L)
- Nathaniel Griesbaum (2L)
Goals
- Prepare our students to successfully understand diverse perspectives and backgrounds by teaching critical thinking, empathy, and a deeper appreciation of others.
- Create an inclusive, equitable, culturally competent, and supportive environment where students, faculty and staff model behavior that enriches our community.
DEI Committee – Prior Academic Years
View the DEI Committee members for prior Academic Years.
Update
January 2022 started off by addressing multiple points of DLS’s Strategic Plan where DLS members strive to be racial justice educators and advocates, providing awareness and educational opportunities through the 21-day Racial Equity Habit Building Challenge, DEI student training, a Conversation for Understanding Town Hall that created a platform for students to raise and discuss DEI-relevant concerns with faculty and the administration, workshops to discuss bias and microaggressions in the law school and workplace, along with various messaging through flyers, posters, emails and social media related to DEI awareness building.
The DEI Committee will build upon these efforts through Community Conversations and other targeted programming, student and faculty engagement, auditing and review of DLS approaches along with strategizing appropriate positions regarding the Clery Act and responses to DEI-related incidents, among other things.