Action Items

Action Item

Progress/Status

Develop a law school Diversity & Inclusion Plan that lays out short-term and long-term principles and goals for achieving a more equitable law school, and we will share important updates related to the plan on a new webpage devoted to issues surrounding diversity, equity, and inclusion.

• Website launched June 2020; plan development in progress.

Hire a consultant to conduct a climate survey to collect data on law student experiences and set a baseline for growth and improvement. This data will supplement ongoing conversations and individual student experiences shared with your administration.

• University launched climate survey in Fall 2020 for faculty, and in Spring 2021 for students and staff. Data available in Summer 2021, and Law School data will be reviewed independently.
• All law school departments tasked with internal diversity and inclusion review process in Fall 2020.

Action Item

Progress/Status

Launch a school-wide book discussion group on topics of racial and social justice.

• Launched Fall 2020. Panel discussions and book club conversations took place virtually in Spring 2021.

Add workshops, training, and events for faculty and staff on topics surrounding diversity, equity, and inclusion. These sessions will occur a minimum of once per semester.

• Inclusive pedagogy training for faculty took place in early Fall 2020. Offered several programs for Fall 2020 focusing on issues of racial justice. Currently investigating additional speakers and programs for the future. In Spring 2022 faculty and staff completed a Culturally Competent Teaching and Advising Workshop. 

Increase by $10,000 existing funding for student events that promote diversity and inclusion, or for travel to conferences and job fairs that promote diversity and inclusion.

• Increased funding now available.

Establish monthly meetings between the student Diversity & Inclusion Committee and Law School administration.

• Regular meetings established June 2020.

Host a Community Meeting every semester for discussion and feedback on diversity, equity, and inclusion.

• Meetings take place every semester.

Re-evaluate the diversity and inclusion-focused portion of New Student Orientation.

• Orientation now includes a mandatory asynchronous module on implicit bias designed by University of Richmond professor Kristjen Lundberg. The module takes approximately 40 minutes to complete and includes videos, the Harvard implicit bias test, and opportunities for anonymous student reflection on the topic of implicit bias.
• New students attend an orientation session lead by the Associate Dean of Students on reporting complaints, bias incidents, and Title IX issues.
• Also included is an optional hour-long discussion of implicit bias with Professor Lundberg.
• A new "DisOrientation" session launched in Summer 2021, planned with faculty and designed to introduce students to the idea that the law is embedded with structural inequality and often does not acknowledge the experiences of marginalized populations. A follow-up session titled "Law and Inequity in the 1L Curriculum" was held in November 2021. "DisOrientation" and "Law and Inequity in the 1L Curriculum" are annual programs.

Action Item

Progress/Status

Make available an online form for students to provide feedback to Law School administrators on issues including diversity, equity, and inclusion.

• Form available on Current Students webpage (under "Student Complaint Process").

Collaborate with the Student Center for Equity and Inclusion (SCEI) to review the Student Complaint process for acts of bias, including how it functions in the Law School and whether it should be improved.

• Review conducted March 2020; complaint process education integrated into New Student Orientation and student leader training; process explained on new webpage.

Action Item

Progress/Status

Review recruitment techniques in admissions, including developing new marketing materials and incorporating more student experiences on the website.

• Admissions team has increased its outreach to underrepresented populations through seminars/presentations; established partnerships with student affinity groups to help engage prospective students; hosted diversity events for admitted students.

Work on building admissions pipeline and funding opportunities to increase diversity.

• Admissions team has applied for and will continue to apply for diversity grants; admitted student stipend program now applies to all students, not just matriculants; continuing work on pipeline programs for underrepresented populations interested in attending law school.
• The Admissions Office originated and hosted the inaugural Virginia Diversity Day in 2022 for prospective students underrepresented in the legal profession in partnership with Antonin Scalia Law School, Regent University School of Law, Washington & Lee School of Law, and William & Mary Law School.
• The Admissions Office partnered with the Council on Legal Education Opportunity to host a CLEO College Scholars Day in both Spring 2021 and 2022. 
• Dean's Opportunity Scholarship Fund for students with great need and great potential continues to grow.

Use a trained diversity advocate on hiring teams for both faculty and staff positions.

• For future faculty searches, each faculty search committee will have a designated Diversity and Search Advocate who will undergo University training. In addition, members of all faculty and staff search committees will be required to complete a University training module on Creating an Equitable Search Process.

Action Item

Progress/Status

Launch annual all-student survey designed to gauge student satisfaction with all aspects of their law school experience, including student satisfaction with DEI issues and student sense of belonging. Survey asks for demographic data, allowing us to make comparisons based on those demographics and to make adjustments based on these assessments.

• Launched Spring 2021. Data from Spring 2021 survey used to develop training and workshop content for faculty and staff.

Add student representation to faculty/staff Diversity & Inclusion Committee and Student Services Sub-Committee.

• Completed Fall 2020.

Expand annual faculty reporting form to include how faculty member creates an inclusive classroom.

• Launched December 2020.

Distribute regular updates from faculty committees to keep students abreast of this work.

• Launched January 2021. 

Add cultural competency component to student evaluations of faculty.

• Launched at close of Spring 2020 semester.

Compile library resource guide on issues of racial justice.

• Guide posted on Resource page.