vol 20 | no 3 | summer 2009

special issue: the summer research diversity fellowship program research diversity fellowship

special issue: The Summer Research Diversity Fellowship Program Every summer for the last twenty-one years the American Bar Foundation has hosted four young scholars from diverse backgrounds for an eight-week research internship in , as part of its Summer Research Diversity Fellowship program.

he summer sessions are de- in the city of Chicago. A series of ter the shortage of minority scholars signed to introduce under- field trips provides the students with involved in the empirical investi- graduate students to the an opportunity to talk with legal gation of law.” ABF’s creation of a rewardsT and demands of a research- actors in the real-world environ- diversity fellowship dovetailed with oriented career in the field of law and ments that are the focus of the ABF’s a larger effort by the American Bar social science. Admission to the pro- empirical research. Each year the Association to advance the presence gram is highly competitive; students students visit, among others, the of minorities in the law, beginning come to the ABF from colleges and offices of Cook County’s Public in the early 1980s. In 1986, after universities across the United States. Defender, Public Guardian, and several years of research by a task force, Each student is assigned to an ABF State’s Attorney, the Solicitor the ABA created the Commission on Research Professor who involves the General, the juvenile and criminal Opportunities for Minorities in the student in the design and imple- courts, and meet with individual Profession, whose mission is to pro- mentation of the Professor’s research private practitioners and judges. mote the “full and equal participa- project and who acts as mentor dur- tion” of people from diverse back- ing the student’s tenure. While the diversity in law and grounds in the legal profession. students work primarily as research academia: miles to go Though minorities now par- assistants, they also attend a series of ticipate in higher numbers in law seminars conducted by ABF Research The American Bar Foundation and legal scholarship than in the Professors who acquaint the students instituted the Summer Research mid-1980s, much remains to be with their diverse research projects. Diversity Fellowship Program in 1988, achieved. In 1998, 2000, and 2004, In addition to their ABF research under the leadership of then-Director the ABA Commission reported on involvement, the students are exposed William Felstiner. The purpose of the status of minorities in the legal to various legal career options and the program was, according to the profession. The 2004 report, entitled observe the justice system in action 1988 ABF Annual Report, “to coun- Miles to Go: Progress of Minorities

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in the Legal Profession, arrived at six Journal, “Though we’ve made prog- the admission of minorities to PhD major findings: ress in diversity, the legal profession programs, but also their retention is still nearly 90 percent white, while through all phases of the academic • Minority representation minorities represent only about 20 “pipeline” from the undergraduate in the legal profession is percent of law school enrollment, and experience, through graduate school significantly lower than that percentage is dropping.” 1 and on to the academic tenure track. in most other professions The American Political Science Asso- • Minority entry into the profes- ciation which has sponsored a APSA sion has slowed considerably The summer Minority Fellows Program for the since the 1980s and mid-1990s last 40 years, has recently “refocused sessions are and increased its efforts to assist • The initial employment of minority students in completing their minority lawyers still differs designed to doctorates by concentrating not only considerably from that of whites introduce under- on the recruitment of minorities, but • Minorities remain grossly under- graduate students also on the retention of these groups represented in top-level private within the profession.” 3 sector jobs, such as law partner to the rewards Thus, in 2009, ABF’s Summer and corporate general counsel and demands of a Research Diversity Fellowship • Progress has been especially research-oriented Program continues to fill an impor- slow for minority women in career in the tant need. As ABF Director Robert the profession Nelson comments, “Though progress • Minorities in general continue field of law and has been made in the last twenty years, to face significant obstacles to social science. minorities are still underrepresented “full and equal” participation in law and in socio-legal scholarship. in the legal profession ABF’s Summer Research Diversity Similarly, in academia minorities Program is unique in that it allows In 2009 the ABA has dedicated are not yet represented in proportion talented undergraduates from diverse significant resources to studying to their numbers in the population. backgrounds to work with the very the problem, culminating in a Na- The American Psychological Associa- best socio-legal scholars, and to see tional Summit on Diversity, entitled tion notes on its website, “Although up close how cutting edge research “Diversity in the Legal Profes- minorities currently represent 30% of projects are designed and implement- sion: The Next Steps?” held on June our nation’s population and are pro- ed. In affording undergraduates this 18-20. The Summit’s final report will jected to account for 40% in 2025, experience, the program continues be presented during the ABA An- only 16% of doctorates in psychology its role as an important segment of nual Meeting on July 31, in Chicago. in 2001, for instance, were awarded the ‘diversity pipeline’ to careers in As ABA President H. Thomas Wells, to minorities.” 2 Of particular con- academia and law.” 4 Jr. summarizes in the June 2009 ABA cern to academicians is not only

1. http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/allowing_our_differences_to_unite_us/ 2. http://www.apa.org/ppo/funding/mfpbriefingsheet.html 3. http://www.apsanet.org/content_3284.cfm 4. The ABF also supports graduate education for scholars from diverse backgrounds through its doctoral fellowship programs. vol 20 | no 3 | summer 2009 researching law 2 research diversity fellowship

in support of the program 2006 2008

Since the summer research fel- Named Fellowship Named Fellowship lowships are residential and draw • Kirkland & Ellis LLP • Kirkland & Ellis LLP students from across the country, • Jenner & Block LLP • Seyfarth Shaw LLP ABF covers transportation and hous- Benefactor Benefactor ing costs, as well as providing each • DLA Piper Rudnick Gray • Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP student with an eight-week stipend. Cary US LLP Contributor To help defray these costs, ABF has • Wildman, Harrold, Allen • Bell, Boyd & Lloyd LLP sought support for the program from & Dixon LLP • Solon E. Summerfield a variety of private and government • Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP Foundation foundations, as well as from law firms. Contributor Research Experiences for Under- Early supporters included the Solon • Mayer, Brown, Rowe graduates Grant Supplements E. Summerfield Foundation, which & Maw LLP • National Science Foundation has donated to the program every • Solon E. Summerfield year since 1989, the New York Times Foundation Company Foundation, the W.P. and Research Experiences for Under- 2009 (as of July press date) H.B. White Foundation, and the graduates Grant Supplements Xerox Foundation. The National • National Science Foundation Partner Science Foundation has also contrib- • Seyfarth Shaw LLP Benefactor uted to the program in various years 2007 in the form of Research Experiences • James D. Montgomery & for Undergraduates supplements Associates, Ltd to NSF research grants awarded to Named Fellowship Contributor ABF faculty. • Kirkland & Ellis LLP • Lloyd A. Fry Foundation In 1999 the Kenneth F. and • Seyfarth Shaw LLP • Solon E. Summerfield Harle G. Montgomery Foundation Benefactor Foundation made a major gift to ABF in support • Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP Research Experiences for Under- of the program. Subsequently, ABF Patron graduates Grant Supplements has sought to build on this gift with • Sonnenschein Nath & • National Science Foundation the goal of creating an endowment Rosenthal LLP so that the program may be self- Contributor sustaining. In recent years ABF has • Solon E. Summerfield been grateful to receive support Foundation toward this goal from the following Research Experiences for Under- members of the legal community as graduates Grant Supplements well as the following foundations: • National Science Foundation

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summer research national and international security, diversity fellows alumni alumni profiles criminal justice, and regulation of criminal financial activity. Cuéllar Since its inception in 1988 the obtained his J.D. from Yale Univer- program has hosted 90 undergradu- sity in 1997, and a PhD in Political ates (66 women, 24 men) from 51 Science from Stanford University colleges and universities, who hail in 2000. Since 2001 he has taught from 27 states as well as Puerto Rico, at Stanford Law School. In 2007 Hong Kong and Papua New Guinea. Cuellar became a Fellow of the Of the 90 students who have partici- American Bar Foundation. pated in the program, about 53 per- Cuéllar grew up in Calexico, cent identified themselves as African Photo courtesy of Bruce Forrester Photography California, a small city on the US- American, 20 percent Hispanic/La- Mariano-Florentino Mexico border about 125 miles east tino, 20 percent Asian, South Asian, “Tino” Cuéllar of San Diego. In 1990 he began undergraduate studies in political biracial, or other, 5.5 percent Puerto Special Assistant to the science at Harvard University, Rican, and one person identified President for Justice and arriving at ABF the summer after herself as Native American. Regulatory Policy, White House his junior year. While many Summer Research Domestic Policy Council Says Cuéllar, “My summer at the Diversity Fellowship alumni go on to (SRDF, 1992; Fellow, American American Bar Foundation opened academic careers in the social sciences Bar Foundation, 2007) and law, many others have chosen up a new world that remains part of to pursue careers as legal practitio- my life to this day. I was surrounded ners, to work in government, social Tino Cuéllar, currently on leave by engaged, creative and energetic policy, or business. Of the 78 alumni from his position as Professor of Law scholars who made it their mission through 2006, ABF has been able and Deane F. Johnson Faculty Scholar to push the frontiers of knowledge to identify the work or study areas at Stanford University, works in about legal institutions and practices. of 55. Of the 55, 23.6 percent were Washington for the Obama admin- They didn’t let boundaries between working in law firms, 20 percent had istration’s White House Domestic economics and anthropology, or careers in academia, mostly in law, Policy Council, where he is Special between law and social science, stop 18.2 percent were currently graduate Assistant to the President for Justice them from exploring how informal students, mostly in JD, joint JD/PhD and Regulatory Policy. From August markets cleared on the South Side or JD/MA programs, 14.5 percent 2008 until January 2009 Cuéllar co- of Chicago, how police decided were using their legal skills in business chaired the Presidential Transition whom to investigate, or how the settings, 14.5 percent were working team on immigration policy, and public understands the meaning of in government, and 9.1 percent were during the presidential campaign justice. Building a better legal system working in the policy arena. chaired the Obama campaign’s policy depends heavily on the answers to advisory committee on immigration, these sorts of questions.” borders, refugees, and domestic and international criminal justice. He has published widely on immigration, vol 20 | no 3 | summer 2009 researching law 4 research diversity fellowship

“Research professors, research assis- she worked with Research Professor alumni profiles tants and students at the Bar Foun- Shari Diamond on her research on dation are all doing interdisciplin- jury decision-making. Though she ary empirical research,” says Destiny had known since high school that she Peery (SRDF, 2004), who is currently wanted to pursue graduate studies in pursuing a joint JD/PhD at North- psychology, Peery’s experience work- western University. “The program ing with Diamond led her to see how opens up options to undergraduates psychology and law intersect, and who may not have known of them.” opened up the possibility of pursuing Indeed, for Peery, the program was a joint degree with equal emphasis the catalyst in her decision to pursue on both disciplines, something she a joint degree in law and psychology hadn’t considered before. Destiny Peery after she graduated from college. In her graduate studies at North- JD/PhD Student, Law and Peery grew up in Minneapolis western, Peery is researching racial Psychology, Northwestern and attended the University of Min- categorization and the perception of University (SRDF, 2004) nesota for undergraduate studies in race. In addition to studying the so- psychology and sociology. At ABF cial psychology of race, she is tracing

From left: Gabriela Jara, Alana Kirkland, Cara McClellan, Amin Montgomery

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Since 1988 ninety undergraduates have participated in the program from the following colleges and universities: how the law was used to create rules 2009 research interns American University for racial categorization and how Amherst College Bowdoin College those rules were translated into rigid This year’s students arrived at ABF on California Polytechnic University social categories. Of particular inter- June 15, for their eight week stints as Carleton College est to Peery are the issues and tensions Summer Research Diversity Fellows Claremont McKenna College Clemson University surrounding “multi-racial” groups. Gabriela Jara, a native of Long Columbia University Recalling her summer experi- Island, New York, is a rising senior Cornell University ence at ABF, Peery notes not only the at Columbia University in New York Dillard University creative academic environment, but City, where she is majoring in Political Duke University also the pleasure of getting to know Science with a special concentration Emory University and exchange ideas with the other in Human Rights. Alana Kirkland, Fisk University Georgetown University summer fellows, the lively infor- a rising senior at Stanford Univer- Grinnell College mal discussions over lunch, and the sity, hails from St. Louis, Missouri. Hampton University diverse, stimulating environment of She is majoring in Political Science Harvard University Iowa State University the city of Chicago. “ABF’s location with a concentration in International LaSalle University in the heart of Chicago adds another Relations, and is also pursuing a Morehouse College level to the richness of the program,” minor in Spanish. Cara McClellan, a Mount Holyoke College New York University Peery comments. native of Philadelphia, PA, is a rising Northeastern Illinois University senior at , majoring Northwestern University in Sociology. Amin Montgomery, Penn State University Pomona College My summer from Bothell, Washington, will be a Princeton University senior next year at the University of Spelman College at the American Washington, Seattle. He is majoring Stanford University Swarthmore College Bar Foundation in Political Science, with a minor in Tougaloo College International Studies. Trinity College opened up a University of California, Los Angeles new world more information on the University of Denver that remains summer research diversity University of Illinois fellowship program may be University of Maryland part of my life found on abf’s website at: University of Memphis www.americanbarfoundation.org/ to this day. research/Fellowshipopportunities/ University of Minnesota SummerResearchDiversityFellowshipsin University of Notre Dame LawandSocialScience.html University of Southern California University of Virginia University of Washington if you are interested in University of Wisconsin supporting the summer Wellesley College research diversity fellowship Wesleyan University program or other important Westmont College abf initiatives, please contact Whittier College lucinda underwood at 312.988.6573 Wittenburg College Yale University vol 20 | no 3 | summer 2009 researching law 6 president copy editor Richard Pena Anne Godden-Segard researching law director An ABF Update designer Robert L. Nelson Quarterly Publication Bradley Sexton Designs Volume 20, Number 3 writer | editor Summer 2009 contact Katharine W. Hannaford email : [email protected] phone : 312.988.6500 www.americanbarfoundation.org

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