College of Law

 Questions for College of Law Standing Committees

 To Address in Connection with Millennium Report

 Questions for Committees

Millennium Project          College of Law

Goals:   Community that is 1) diverse; 2) fair; and 3) hospitable.
Because these goals cross the entire environment at the College of Law,
one step at learning the "state of the community" is to focus questions
appropriate to each of several college committees.

Appointments:

 What can we do, including what we already do, to ensure that the pool
is as diverse as possible?  (What do we already do?  What more can we
do?)

 Do our criteria (formal or de facto) unnecessarily exclude candidates
who might otherwise be successful faculty members here and in doing so,
exclude women or minority candidates who might otherwise be considered?

 For the last 5 - 10 years, what is the gender/ethnic breakdown of those
we have invited to interview?  Have any of those who either withdrew or
declined our offer complained about the gender/ethnic makeup of our
faculty?  Why didn't those who declined accept our offers?  Are there
any differences between entry and lateral experiences in recruiting
reflected here, and can we learn anything from this?

 What are we doing now, and what can we do in addition to what are doing
now when interviewing candidates, to ensure that they feel that once
they get here, they will have the necessary support and environment to
succeed, both within the law school, the university, and the Tucson
community at large?

 Do we have an accurate understanding of the differences, if any, and if
generalizable, in expectations, between and among groups categorized on
the basis of gender, ethnicity, disability, and family structure (people
with small children (with or without adult partners), elderly parents,
disabled spouses, nontraditional families)?  Are there different
expectations in terms of short and long term goals in academia among
persons in these groups that we should be taking into account?

   See also Promotion and Tenure heading.

Curriculum – both formal and informal

Lawyers will be called upon to deal with persons of diverse backgrounds
– clients from different backgrounds, orientations, cultures, etc.  What
in general are we doing to ensure that our students are developing the
skills and ability to comprehend and appreciate differences to do this?

Do our students come away with a better ability to understand and
respect the different viewpoints of others?

Is the classroom environment open to varying points of view?

Are there ways that we can emphasize, model, and even teach these
abilities (understanding and respect) during the first year?

Are we making the most of the diversity of our LL.M. programs, and are
we doing all we can to make our foreign students welcome?

Are there courses that we have or that we can create that will trigger
diversity issues – that could bring in diversity issues – for example,
the drama department has changed a basic requirement from a traditional
drama course to "Drama of the Americas" that incorporated a much more
diverse introduction to drama.

Are there ways we can help faculty members introduce more diversity into
already –existing classes?

Are there other ways we can exploit existing programs, such as student
enrichment programs, that would intrinsically reflect diversity by
introducing students to other communities, other experiences?
(Examples:  Deaf culture presentation recently, different legal systems'
approaches to common problems, etc.)

Are there ways we can support faculty in handling difficult issues of
diversity as they come up in the classroom?   Are there ways we can
support faculty who face difficulties in the classroom because of their
gender or ethnicity?

   Are students getting what they need?

Clinics
 What are our clinics doing, and what more can they do, to help students
develop skills in assisting persons from different backgrounds from
themselves?

Admissions

What is the breakdown of gender and ethnicity of pool, admits, and
entering classes for the past five years?
Have changes in law affecting other schools affected our pool of
applicants, particularly in terms of ethnic background?
Ask Dean for Admissions  what her impression is of the experience of
minority students at our law school.    Does this seem like a welcoming
place to our minority applicants?
Are there things we can do to make the school more welcoming to a
diverse pool of potential admits?
Within constitutional limitations, is there anything more we can do to
create the most diverse pool possible?

     Are our minority students satisfied, happy, fulfilled?  Are there
aspects of our environment that make it uniquely difficult for minority
students?
Are there ways we can improve the environment for minority students?

Promotion and Tenure

Do the current tenure rules encourage diversity in intellectual interest
and expression?
Do the rules hinder or help a life of scholarship teaching and service?
Do untenured faculty  know the rules?  Recent experience with the
process?
Do we have consistent dissemination of information about the process?

Do we have an accurate understanding of the differences in expectations
(if any, and if generalizable) between and among groups categorized on
the basis of gender and ethnicity, disability, and family structure
(people with small children (with or without adult partners), elderly
parents, disabled spouses, nontraditional families)?  Are there
different expectations in terms of short and long term goals in academia
based on group membership?

How can we learn from the individuals who are currently non-tenured or
non-continuing status what their experiences (positive and negative)
are, and how we can improve their experiences and their work
environment?

Are there ways our mentoring program could be improved?  What is the
range of activities that current mentors and non-tenured or
non-continuing status faculty members find productive and helpful?  What
additional things could we do?    For example, monthly lunches?  What do
we hope mentors are providing to the faculty members they are mentoring?
Should we articulate specific goals for mentors that can be better
communicated to both mentors and to junior faculty?

Are there other ways, formal or informal, that we can assist
non-tenured, non-continuing status, or newly tenured faculty continue to
develop professionally?
Enrichment
Faculty Enrichment

Are there ways that this committee can introduce us to our own diversity
by encouraging faculty to make more presentations?

Other?  Community Service
Are there projects that we can create where students participate in
experiences that will connect the law college community with other
communities in Tucson?

Other
What steps can we take to make this a more friendly place?
Are we making the most of our diversity?  Can we draw on that of the
main campus?
We should contact those who have left for other institutions to get
their take on how things are here, perhaps comparing them to how things
are there.  We might get some ideas of programs at other law schools.

 Idea:
Law School Meet Yourself – faculty, students, staff