In 1996, the Association of American Law Schools trained a group of ten faculty members to provide retreat facilitation to law schools requesting their services. Because of the popularity of this program, the Association trained an additional ten faculty members last week. Deputy Director Harry G. Prince also went through the Resource Corps Training. The new members of the Resource Corps are: Leo Martinez, University of California, Hastings; Barbara Cox, California Western School of Law; Todd Rakoff, Harvard University; Dennis Lynch, University of Miami; Suellyn Scarnecchia, the University of Michigan Law School; Bari Burke, University of Montana; Pat Chew, University of Pittsburgh; Harold Abramson, Touro College; Mildred Wigfall Robinson, University of Virginia; and Dennis Curtis, Yale Law School. The Resource Corps members will be divided, by our office, into teams of two for each facilitation.

The purpose of the Resource Corps is to assist schools in developing the capacity for collegial deliberation and decision making. The members of the Resource Corps are available to work with law schools trying to develop an enduring capacity for collaborative problem solving while at the same time addressing one or more specific issues of current concern. These issues could include: clarification of institutional mission and creation of an effective action plan to address changes in priorities, applicant pools, or financial resources; reassessment of academic program or pedagogy; development of goals and objective to guide an upcoming dean search; creation and retention of a more diverse faculty and student body; or development of an institutional climate more conducive to outstanding scholarship.

It is expected that Resource Corps members will facilitate an off-site school retreat lasting between one and two days and assist the school with follow through after the retreat. It is critical to the success of this project that schools have identified a particular project and the dean and faculty both understand the purpose of the Resource Corps and be committed to the concept of outside facilitation.

The law schools that have used the Resource Corps include: Denver, Duke, Emory, Golden Gate, Iowa, John Marshall, Kentucky, Mississippi College, Pace, Temple, Tennessee, and Washington, St. Louis. Schools that have had the assistance of a Resource Corps team have found it an important and valuable new service of the Association. The new members of the Resource Corps, as well as many of those trained in 1996, are ready to assist schools with retreat facilitation.

Please let me know if you have any questions or would like to use the Resource Corps.

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1996 Resource Corps Members
2000 Resource Corps Members