Stanford law students seek diversity in next dean

Oct. 19, 2018, 1:00 a.m.

Dear Provost Drell,

Law and law schools have always been tied up in our tragic and triumphant struggle for justice. From the founding of the republic, when slavery was embedded in the Constitution, U.S. law has sought compromise with racist ideologies. But, in the hands of social movements and visionary attorneys, law has also been a tool of liberation. Our Constitution sets the expectation that the law and the courts would be the voice of the minority. The quality of legal education helps determine the interests law students will serve, and who those students are. Elite law schools have a particular responsibility to challenge and improve society by ensuring law is a tool for justice. We are therefore writing as alumni of Stanford Law School to urge you to center anti-racist goals in your search for the next dean.

Under Dean Magill, and prompted by brave students, SLS began a serious conversation on race, including diversity and inclusion issues, and extending to larger questions of equity in the law. But a great deal of work remains to be done. An internal report on next steps has yet to be fully implemented, the school and faculty remain far less diverse than the society they serve, and the core realities of racism in American life and law are not integrated into the school’s curriculum and mission. You and the search committee now have a responsibility to make certain that the next dean is committed to this work. In particular, we ask that the search committee ensure the next dean:

          –  Is a person of color, for the first time ever.

          –  Is fully committed to an anti-racist vision, including fully implementing the school’s internal

             report on next steps and actively continuing the conversation on how to do better.

          –  Is open to critically interrogating law’s long complicity with racism and white supremacy,

             and is dedicated to ensuring Stanford lawyers serve justice, not entrenched privilege.

The search for the right person should be open and inclusive. The dean of Stanford Law School is an important national leader, so the search should reflect the school’s, and the nation’s, diverse and engaged community in a democratic way. This should include, at a bare minimum, including alumni and faculty of color on the search committee.

We welcome the opportunity to discuss these matters further with you, and count on you to do the right thing.

Signed by 125 Stanford Law School graduates including,

Adam F. Lewis, 2017

Adam Podowitz-Thomas, 2011

Adelina Acuna, 2012

Alexandra Miller, 2014

Alvaro Soria, 2005

Amy Tannenbaum, 2017

Annick Jordan, 2017

Atenas Burrola, 2014

Bianca Sierra Wolff, 2004

Bolanle Olupona, 2009

Briane Cornish, 2014

Bryn Martyna, 2005

Carl D. Owens, Jr., 2012

Casey Raymond, 2014

Catherine Ruckelshaus, 1989

Chris McLamb, 2016

Christina Black, 2014

Christopher Ho, 1987

Christopher Lewis, 2017

Christy Gilbert Holstege, 2012

Cindy Liou, 2007

Cindy M. Garcia, 2016

Craig Segall, 2007

Dahlia Lithwick, 1996

Daniel B. Rojas, 2012

David Weiskopf, 2013

Denise Ballesteros, 2015

Emi Young, 2016

Eric Cohen, 1986

Eric Weitz, 2014

Esther Hong, 2007

Ethan Forrest, 2012

Eunice Cho, 2009

Ibrahim Elshamy, 2015

J. Robert García, 2012

James Shipe, 2007

Jarrell Cook, 2013

Jeff A Laretto, 2008

Jennifer Gonzalez, 2013

Jennifer Liu, 2008

Jennifer Williams, 2014

Jessica Dragonetti, 2015

Jessica Hubley, 2008

Jessica Snyder, 2013

Jessica Verran-Lingard, 2014

Joel Minor, 2014

Joelle Emerson, 2011

Jordana Siracusa, 2010

Juan Carlos Cancino, 2008

Julia B. Cherlow, 2012

Julia Rabinovich, 2012

Julie Wahlstrand, 2008

Karen Klein, 1987

Kate Fetrow, 2017

Katharine Blake McGowan, 2012

Katherine Hubbard, 2014

Kathleen Kim, 2002

Katrina Eiland, 2010

Kelli Newman, 2012

Kevin Lo, 2011

Kimi Narita, 2011

Laura Bixby, 2014

Lauren Zack, 2017

Leah Judge, 2014

Lila Miller, 2014

Lin Yee Chan, 2007

Lisa Ehrlich, 2009

Liz Morris, 2008

Maggie E Filler, 2012

Malaina Freedman, 2012

Mark Baller, 2008

Mark Feldman, 2014

Mary T. Hernandez, 1988

Matt Armsby, 2008

Matthew Fine, 2014

Matthew Stark Blumin, 2008

Maureen Keffer, 2011

Mavis Asiedu-Frimpong, 2013

Menaka Kalaskar, 2009

Meredith Firetog, 2014

Michael Avanti Lopez, 2006

Michelle Lamy, 2015

Michelle Lamy, 2015

Mikael Rojas, 2015

Min-Jae Lee, 2007

Nayna Gupta, 2013

Neesa Sethi, 2008

Neha Gupta, 2014

Neil K. Sawhney, 2014

Nichelle S. Carr, 2003

Nikki Marquez, 2015

Nisha Kashyap, 2014

Patti Chang, 1985

Perry Grossman, 2008

R. Omar Riojas, 2003

R. Orion Danjuma, 2010

Rose Leda Ehler, 2012

Ruth Barnes, 2007

Rylee Sommers-Flanagan, 2016

Sabrina Adler, 2008

Sabrina Forte, 2014

Salena G Copeland, 2007

Samantha Stonework-Hand, 2006

Scott Mollett, 2008

Shahid Buttar, 2003

Shira Morag Levine, 2012

Shubhra Shivpuri, 2008

Sierra Martinez, 2008

Sonia Valdez, 2010

Stacy Villalobos, 2015

Susan Bowyer, 1992

Swain Uber, 2016

Tamika L. Butler, 2009

Tiffany Yang, 2015

Tony Lai, 2011

Tori Ballif Gibbons, 2012

Tsion Lencho, 2012

Valerie Castelo, 2006

Vanessa del Valle, 201

3Vanessa Frank, 2003

Virginia Halden, 2016

Wilfred U. Codrington III, 2009

Yara Lomeli-Loibl, 2009

Zoe Palitz, 2010

 

Contact Liz Morris, involved with this letter at morrisliz ‘at’ uchastings.edu.

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