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Dear Friends and Colleagues:
I want to devote the first dean's
column of the year to welcoming our
extraordinary entering class and our
new faculty and staff. I also want to
recap some of the exceptional programs
and speakers hosted at the
School of Law last Spring and over
the Summer. Let me begin, however,
by thanking the School of Law community
and friends for your many acts
of kindness and generosity during the
last five years. You make this job
both an honor and a pleasure and I am
grateful. Thank you!
The Class of 2006 is diverse,
smart, energetic and committed. Welcome!
This class was recruited from
a record-breaking applicant pool of
1,037, up 90% over last year. Ninety
strong, the class is 66% women—
very likely the highest percentage of
women in any class in America.
(Assistant Admission Director Aaron
Taylor swears that he is not the cause
of this major jump!) The class of
2006 continues a four-year trend of
significantly higher LSAT and GPA
scores. Fourteen percent of the class
has graduate or professional degrees.
As mentioned in Assistant Dean for
Admission Vivian Canty’s article on
page 20, our new class hails from
eighteen states and the District of Columbia
and from sixty-three different
undergraduate schools. Fully a third
of our wonderful new crop of students
learned of us by word-of-mouth, so
friends, staff, alumni, students:
please, keep spreading the good
word!
We are also pleased to welcome
visiting faculty member Derek Alphran
who is directing our Academic
Support Program (see bio p. 16),
Dena Bauman, our new Director of
Career Services (p. 15) and Sylvia
Spruill, staff assistant in Admission
(p. 15). We are looking forward to
working with these wonderful members
of our community. We are
deeply delighted to welcome back
Judge William Pryor, who retired
last year but has rejoined us to teach
Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure.
What lucky first-year students!
As you review this edition of the Advocate,
you will learn of three terrific programs
sponsored by the School of Law last year. In
March, anticipating the April 1 Gruter v.
Bollinger Supreme Court arguments, several
faculty members put together a panel exploring
the past, present and future of affirmative
action. A few days later, dozens of members
of the School of Law community marched to
the Supreme Court in support of those arguing
to uphold higher educational institutions
choice regarding affirmative action policies.
2L Chuck Detling spent the night in line in
order to gain entrance to the hearing, an experience
he will never forget. During the
summer, UDC-DCSL’s Civil Rights in the
21st Century professors William Robinson
and Wade Henderson hosted the University
of Michigan’s attorney, John Payton, who
recounted his experience in preparing and arguing
the historic case and shared his views
on what the future may bring. (see p. 7)
In April, the UDC Law Review hosted a
well-attended symposium, Understanding
Lawyers’ Ethics: Zealous Advocacy in a Time
of Uncertainty. (p. 6) The speakers addressed
cutting-edge legal issues suggested by
Enron and the events of 9/11, among others.
Each speaker, including our own Professor
Laurie Morin, is also submitting an article or
essay for the next issue of the Law Review.
Finally, in late April, the UDC-DCSL
American Constitution Society offered a D.C.
Voting Rights program, bringing together
leading advocates, including our own Prof.
Jim Gray. Another big crowd learned of the
various litigation and grass roots organizing
strategies currently being employed in the effort
to bring voting rights to D.C. citizens.
(See p. 11)
The School of Law also benefited from a
host of inspiring speakers in recent months.
Rauh lecturer Marian Wright Edelman,
scholars Derrick Bell, Noam Chomsky, and
J. Clay Smith spoke here, as did “Dean of the
Congressional Black Caucus” John Conyers.
Each addressed large crowds who avidly absorbed
their ideas and action plans. (Pages 3,
9, 5, 11 & 21 respectively)
Those of you familiar with past editions
of the Advocate will quickly realize that this
edition is shorter — and is missing two key
ingredients: a round up of the School of Law’s
long list of public service activities, and the
details of student and alumni affairs. Do not
despair! Next week, we will publish a “UDC-DCSL
in Service to the Community” edition featuring recent clinical program
highlights, student efforts in the
Community Service Program, and
descriptions of our 2003 Equal Justice
Works Summer Public Interest
Fellowships. Next month, we will
publish a special Alumni Affairs
edition with some great photos
taken at the most recent reunion.
And finally, the Fall/Winter edition
of the Advocate is also in the works
for your reading enjoyment.
In closing, I want to recognize
our hard-charging faculty. Congratulations
to Professors Alice
Thomas and to Wilhelmina Reuben-
Cooke who were granted tenure
by the UDC Board of Trustees
in June. Professor Thomas was also
named Lead Carnegie Scholar in
May, and Professor Reuben-Cooke
is currently serving as Provost and
Vice President of the University of
the District of Columbia. Her biography
can be found on page 15. I
also want to commend the many
members of the faculty who undertook
scholarly research projects during
the summer on topics including
teaching excellence, the Americans
with Disabilities Act, juvenile justice,
the death penalty, corporate
legal ethics, and other areas of importance.
Take a look at the stories
on pg. 17 for a more detailed account.
ENJOY THIS EDITION!
Shelley Broderick, Dean
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