Law Schools

Law School Deans Respond To 'Whiteness' Ranking, Acknowledge Student Body Is Still Too White

This is an impressive call to action.

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Earlier this week, a new report ranking the whitest law schools in America was released, where some law schools were called out for their “inappropriate,” “excess” whiteness during a time when diversity and inclusion should be given special consideration. At least two law school deans are taking their school’s place on this ranking quite seriously, and they reached out to students to let them know.

Deans Jessica Berg and Michael Scharf of Case Western Reserve University School of Law — ranked 144 out of 200 on list (the lower the score, the higher the whiteness) — emailed students to let voice their concerns. The Washington Free Beacon has the details:

“First, we should not be satisfied with the diversity of our student body, even on the measures used in this study,” Berg and Scharf said. “It does not mean we have an equitable number of students who identify as Black, Native American, Latinx, Asian American, Pacific Islander, or other under-represented groups.”

The percentage of minority students in the school’s first-year law classes, however, exceeded the percentage of nationwide minority applicants by 13 percent. Case Western has increased the percentage of first-year law students “who do not identify as white” by 11 percent since 2004, the deans said in the email.

Case Western happens to be a law school that’s already doing a great deal of work to diversify its incoming classes and incorporate racial justice initiatives into its learning environment, and the deans still don’t think they’re doing enough. In a world where racial equity still hasn’t been given its due in law school academia and admissions, that’s quite refreshing.

Deans Berg and Scharf released this statement: “We are committed to diversity and inclusion in all aspects of our law school community and know that we still have work to do in this area. This study draws attention to one measure, but its greater impact may be to help reinforce the need for additional conversations and initiatives.”

Will other law school deans take this ranking seriously and attempt to make changes to further diversify their incoming classes? We remain hopeful.

Law School Deans Chastise Student Body as Too White [Washington Free Beacon]

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Staci ZaretskyStaci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.

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