March 22, 2005

MEMORANDUM 05-09

In its commitment to support its members in achieving diversity at all ranks within the law school community, the Association will maintain two lists, a list of women and a list of minorities, who have either expressed interest directly or have been recommended, as candidates for law school deanships. By maintaining these lists the Association will be able to make them available to dean search committees interested in having a diverse pool of candidates that includes women and minorities in their searches.

The Association requests that you provide names of women and minority faculty members and administrators that you think should be included on one or both of these lists. Once we have received your nominations we will proceed to obtain the permission of the nominees to allow their names to be placed on the lists. We make a solicitation for names to be added to these lists annually.

This is our third year for the maintenance of the Minority Deans Databank and it is the Association's fourth year as the host of the Women Deans Databank, which had been maintained by the Georgetown University Law Center in prior years. The past response to the these databanks has been very favorable, supported overwhelmingly by deans across the country, and it has received much praise from search committees that have used it in their searches.

We encourage you to use this service, whenever a dean search committee is formed, by sending your request for the lists to the AALS Deputy Director at jsaltalamachia@aals.org .

Let me thank you in advance for your participation in this important initiative to enhance the opportunities for women and minority dean candidates.

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