PERSPECTIVES ON DIVERSITY

FOREWORD
Carl C. Monk
Executive Vice President and Executive Director
Association of American Law Schools

The AALS’s Special Commission on Meeting the Challenges of Diversity in an Academic Democracy was appointed in 1992 by AAL S President, Professor Emma Coleman Jordan, to further the Association’s long-standing commitment to the ideal of equality of opportunity in legal education. Appointment of this Commission reflects the Association’s commitment to diversity and its general commitment to improving the legal profession through legal education. AALS Bylaw 6-4(a) requires member schools to provide equality of opportunity in legal education for all persons without discrimination on the ground of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, handicap or disability, or sexual orientation. In addition, Bylaw 6-4(b) requires member schools to pursue a policy of providing its students and graduates with equal opportunity to obtain employment, without discrimination on any of the above enumerated grounds. Finally, Bylaw 6-4(c) requires a member school to seek to have a faculty, staff and student body which are diverse with respect to race, color and sex.

Before the Diversity Commission was established, the Association had been concerned primarily with "first-generation" diversity issues -- the traditional underrepresentation in law schools of certain individuals. This underrepresentation was discussed in a series of special committee reports: Recruitment and Retention of Minority Law Teachers (1988), Disability Issues (1990), Tenure and Tenuring Process (1991). Although these first-generation issues have not been solved at law schools, some progress has been made. This progress is documented in the Association’s annual statistical reports on the composition of full-time faculty and has also been evident in the enforcement of Bylaw 6-4 through the accreditation/membership review process.

The Diversity Commission was thus established to discuss "second-generation" diversity issues -- those issues that arise once a diverse student body and diverse faculty are in place. As Professor Jordan noted, "Alienation in law schools is not confined to members of the groups who are the focus of the nondiscrimination policy stated in Bylaw 6-4(a) and (b). The perception by some white male students and faculty that they are being disfavored presents a more difficult challenge for those seeking to preserve and reinforce the legal tradition of open and robust exchange on the most sensitive issues." Appointment of this Commission was designed to provide assistance in a non-regulatory, collegial manner to schools seeking to improve the environment of their increasingly diverse community. The Diversity Commission thus was charged with examining the barriers to full participation in the academic community and proposing strategies for supporting full participation in the community by all its members.

The initial members of the Commission were: Guido Calabresi, Yale University; Troy Duster, University of California, Berkeley, Department of Sociology; Charles R. Lawrence, Stanford Law School; Christine A. Littleton, University of California, Los Angeles; Lee E. Teitelbaum, University of Utah; Gerald Torres, University of Minnesota, Co-Chair; and Wendy Webster Williams, Georgetown University, Co-Chair.

For a number of professional and personal reasons, many Commission members reluctantly resigned from the Commission. The current Commission members are: Troy Duster, University of California, Berkeley, Department of Sociology; Alex M. Johnson, Jr., University of Virginia; Charles R. Lawrence, Georgetown University; Rachel F. Moran, University of California, Berkeley, Chair; and Lee E. Teitelbaum, University of Utah.

The Commission has met regularly since its appointment. The Commission’s extensive study has deepened its understanding about the complexity of these issues. In part because of this heightened awareness and in part because of the unforeseeable personnel changes on the Commission, the Commission decided that it would not try to produce a single document, but rather distribute the papers prepared by individual Commission members that together comprise this booklet entitled "Perspectives on Diversity." The views expressed in each paper are thus the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the views of other members of the Commission or the Association. They are designed to be provocative and not dispositive, with the hope that they will serve as a catalyst for faculty discussion and action on these issues. The Commission has also compiled a bibliography for those who want to read more in this area. The Association therefore hopes, particularly at a time when the entire concept of affirmative action is under attack, that you will share these perspectives with your faculty and make these issues the subject of serious faculty discussion.

It is important to read these papers in the context of the Association’s commitment to diversity. We have therefore included as part of these perspectives the Association’s position on affirmative action and the importance of it to the improvement of the legal profession through legal education.

AALS Bylaw Section 6-4. Diversity: Non-Discrimination and Affirmative Action.

a. A member school shall provide equality of opportunity in legal education for all persons, including faculty and employees with respect to hiring, continuation, promotion and tenure, applicants for admission, enrolled students, and graduates, without discrimination or segregation on the ground of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, handicap or disability, or sexual orientation.

b. A member school shall pursue a policy of providing its students and graduates with equal opportunity to obtain employment, without discrimination or segregation on the ground of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, handicap or disability, or sexual orientation. A member school shall communicate to each employer to whom it furnishes assistance and facilities for interviewing and other placement functions the school’s firm expectation that the employer will observe the principle of equal opportunity.

c. A member school shall seek to have a faculty, staff, and student body which are diverse with respect to race, color, and sex. A member school may pursue additional affirmative action objectives.