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A message from Dean Elizabeth Rindskopf Parker

Without question, the lack of well qualified minority candidates is a concern for every American law school dean. Without student body diversity, the class room experience of every student is diminished and our own mission of producing a broadly inclusive profession, capable of uniting our nation’s powerful diversity, remains elusive. Every law school dean recognizes this problem. And each of us struggles annually to increase diversity. The resulting competition over those few applicants available may serve to advance one school, but only at the expense of another. It cannot address the underlying problem of an inadequate pool of qualified law school candidates.

Believing that so pervasive and fundamental a problem requires a collaborative solution, for the past four years, the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law has been working to create a new approach to increasing the population of well prepared diverse applicants. Simply stated, our goal has been to explore how law schools might unite K-20 educators with professionals from the bench and bar to encourage better preparation of minority and at risk students across the entire length of the Educational Pipeline--from preschool to graduate school.

What we have learned is powerful. We have found that legal education and practice can engage and encourage these students to produce better educational results. Stimulated by the relevance and excitement of law themed curricula and co-curricular activities, and supported by role models in the bench and bar, at risk students develop new interest in education and learn to imagine a future professional role. We have been gratified that other law schools, too, are joining us in this effort, using their campus environment, students, alumni and resources to design their own responses to this problem.

As more law schools express interest in this collaborative approach to reaching out to underachieving high schools in their areas, we have expressed what we believe are several core principles which will be relevant for every Educational Pipeline project:

First, we have become convinced that only those projects designed to be systematic and sustained over time—not simply “splash and dash” activities—can make a fundamental difference in helping students placed at risk gain the education they need for success in both their education and life beyond.

Second, we have found that collaboration among educators along the entire educational continuum, from preschool to professional school, is essential. This foundational principle was established in June 2004, when teams of educators from schools of law, education, and liberal arts met with K-12 educators and national education leaders at the Wingspread Conference Center of the Johnson Foundation in Racine, Wisconsin. This meeting’s subsequent “Call to Action” sets forth our overarching goals and objectives, and can be found with other helpful information from our Wingspread conferences on our Education Pipeline Initiative website.

Third, we have learned that there is value from projects and activities along the entire P-20 continuum, even as early as primary school. For this reason, Pacific McGeorge offers a range of programs, from after-school mentoring to full-blown law-themed curricula in partnership high schools.

Fourth, we have learned that the bench and bar are eager to join us in this work. What they lack, however, is the administrative structure to support their work. Law schools can effectively fill this role, bridging the gap between educational and professional partners in a collaborative effort which addresses the needs of at risk students.

It is my hope that our work will encourage other law schools to join us and to share the experiences they will gain as they design their own programs. Together, we believe that we can address the current shortage of qualified diverse law school candidates by creating programs that take advantage of the power, engagement, and inspiration of law and legal pedagogy to forge a sustainable partnership. Establishing these programs together will enable us to address the limitations that at risk students confront in becoming the successful professionals of tomorrow.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth Rindskopf Parker
Dean
University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law