Widener University School of Law

Vault Law School Diversity Profile • 2007 Edition

Recruitment and Scholarships/Fellowships

How does your school recruit minority and/or women students? Increasing minority enrollment and diversifying the student body are among the highest priorities at Widener University School of Law. Widener Law seeks to recruit a diverse pool of applicants to the law school. To achieve that initiative, the admissions office has consistently participated in on-campus recruitment events sponsored by historically black colleges and universities. Additionally, we continue to participate in on-campus recruitment events at colleges and universities that maintain a high minority population.

Since 1997, Widener Law has hosted, with sponsorship from the Law School Admission Council (LSAC), Minority Outreach Programs geared toward high school students at both our Wilmington, Del. and Harrisburg, Pa. campuses. These events have been quite successful in identifying those students who express an interest in the legal profession. While on campus, students attend a mock law school class, learn about both the law school and college admissions processes and most importantly meet with minority law students who give them valuable insight on creating a path to success.

Through LSAC's candidate referral service, Widener Law sends invitations to apply every year to self-identified minority candidates and offers an application fee waiver. In the past three years, Widener Law has seen an increase in the number of qualified applicants who have heard about our school through this process. In addition, since 1993, Widener Law has made diversity scholarship funds available to incoming minority students who demonstrate a high promise of academic success.

The educational experience is enhanced for all students with the inclusion of a diverse class because new lawyers will be working in a diverse society. At Widener Law, we are committed to graduating lawyers ready for the world in which they will practice.

Please describe any scholarship and fellowship programs for minority and/or women students organized through your school. Name of scholarship program: Widener Scholars Diversity Scholarship Deadline for application for the scholarship program: No deadline Scholarship award amount ($U.S., indicate if the scholarship amount represents the amount for a single year or for entire scholarship): Amount varies up to full tuition Web site or other contact information for scholarship : Students are selected at admission to the law school.

Selection based on undergraduate GPA and performance on the LSAT.

Name of scholarship program: Pennsylvania Bar Foundation Minority Scholarship Deadline for application for the scholarship program: March 15 Scholarship award amount ($U.S., indicate if the scholarship amount represents the amount for a single year or for entire scholarship): $750 Web site or other contact information for scholarship : Contact the Widener Law Financial Aid Office.

Awarded to a second-year law student in good standing who is a resident of Pennsylvania at the time of law school admission, a minority student and current member of the Law School Division of the PA Bar Association. Award is based on academic achievement, financial need, and potential for making a contribution to society and the legal profession either through anticipated legal field or other efforts.

Name of scholarship program: Bruce and Elizabeth Monroe Endowed Scholarship Deadline for application for the scholarship program: March 15 Scholarship award amount ($U.S., indicate if the scholarship amount represents the amount for a single year or for entire scholarship): Three at $1,000 each Web site or other contact information for scholarship : Contact the Widener Law Financial Aid Office.

Criteria is academic achievement by second-, third- or fourth-year students as demonstrated by their achievement in copyrights, patent law, patent practice, and unfair trade practices or similar future course offerings in intellectual property. Preference is to be given to a female because the current numbers of females in this practice are very low. One of the awards should be given to a female student; two should be Delaware campus students; one a Harrisburg campus student.

Name of scholarship program: Pamela K. Karpouzis Memorial Scholarship Deadline for application for the scholarship program: March 15 Scholarship award amount ($U.S., indicate if the scholarship amount represents the amount for a single year or for entire scholarship): $1,200 Web site or other contact information for scholarship : Contact the Widener Law Financial Aid Office.

The recipient shall be an incoming law student on the Harrisburg campus through the Harrisburg Trial Admissions Program. Preference is given to a female student entering the law school's extended division and selection is based on academic merit. Whenever possible, two preferences may also be considered: the recipient may be of Greek descent or someone who is experi- encing or who has overcome a difficult life experience.

Prominent Alumni/Faculty

Please provide information about prominent minority faculty members at your school. Dean Linda L. Ammons Dean Linda L. Ammons is associate provost and dean of Widener University School of Law. An accomplished lawyer, professor, and administrator, Ammons came to Widener in July 2006 from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law in Cleveland, Ohio, where she was associate dean and professor of law. During her 15 years there she chaired and served on a number of university committees and taught administrative law, legislation, mass communications law and women and the law. In addition, Ammons has been on the faculty of the National Judicial College in Reno, Nevada since 1993.

Prior to joining the faculty at Cleveland-Marshall, Ammons served as executive assistant to former Ohio Governor Richard F. Celeste, from 1988 to 1991, advising him on legal and policy matters in the criminal justice, regulatory and administrative areas. While in the governor's office, she led the charge for the battered women's clemency project that resulted in clemencies for 28 Ohio women. Ammons subsequently initiated and co-chaired for two years the American Bar Association National Institute on Defending Battered Women in Criminal Cases.

Ammons was appointed to both the Ohio Supreme Court Futures Commission, as well as to the Ohio Public Defender's Commission, on which she served two four-year terms. An Ohio State University Moritz College of Law alumna, she was selected out of 8,000 of her peers to be the recipient of the 2004-2005 Moritz Alumni Society's Community Service Award.

Nathaniel C. Nichols Nathaniel C. Nichols is associate professor of law and director of clinical programs at Widener's Delaware campus. He received a B.A. from Howard University in 1970 and a J.D. from Columbia University School of Law in 1973.

Following graduation from law school, Nichols served as managing attorney for Delaware County Legal Assistance in Chester, Pa., from 1974-78, and in private practice as a partner at Nichols & Givens in Chester, Pa., from 1978-86. Nichols joined the Widener faculty as a visiting assistant professor in 1986 and served in that capacity until 1988; he then served as assistant professor of law, from 1988-91, and as associate professor of law since 1991. Nichols served as assistant dean for student affairs from 1995-96; associate dean for student affairs from 1996-97, and dean of students from 1997-98, when he returned to the faculty as director of the clinical programs.

He is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania, and teaches and writes in the areas of bankruptcy and creditors' rights. The Chester, Pa. branch of the NAACP honored him in 2005 with its Robert A. Wright Award for service to the community.

Nichols has been active in a number of professional and civic organizations, including The Chester Education Foundation and the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Bankruptcy Conference.

Serena M. Williams Serena M. Williams is a professor of law and assistant dean of student affairs at the Widener University School of Law in Wilmington, Del. She teaches and researches in the areas of property law, landlord/tenant law, and environmental justice. Williams received an A.B. in economics from Smith College in 1981. She received her J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center in 1984 and her LL.M. inlLand use management and control from the George Washington University Law School in 1992.

Following graduation from law school, Williams served as an attorney in the Office of Program Enforcement at the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. She also served as a financial economist in the Office of Economic and Tax Policy of the Washington, D.C., Department of Finance and Revenue.

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Prior to joining the faculty at Widener, Williams taught property, land use and environmental law at the University of Louisville in Louisville, Ky. She also taught legal writing at the Howard University School of Law in Washington, D.C.

Williams currently serves on the board of directors of the ACLU of Delaware and of Planned Parenthood Delaware. She advises the Walnut Street YMCA delegation to the Delaware Youth In Government Program, a mock legislative program sponsored by the YMCA of Delaware.

She is admitted to practice in Maryland and Washington, D.C.

Please provide information about prominent minority alumni from your school. Kyle D. Bowser, Esq. '91 Bowser is a long-time entertainment industry executive currently with Res Ipsa Media, Inc. in Los Angeles, Calif. His experience spans film, television, music, theater, radio and new media.

His television involvement began with NBC Business Affairs in New York City, and he later moved to Los Angeles to join Fox, Inc., where he developed television programming of multiple genres and creatively managed primetime fare aired by the Fox Broadcasting Company. He oversaw hit shows including "In Living Color," "Roc," and "Shaky Ground." He next served as director of creative affairs for HBO Independent Productions, where his programming inventory included FOX shows "Martin" and "Roc."

Bowser then founded Res Ipsa Media, Inc., a multi-media production company that has garnered development deals with Warner Bros., Home Box Office and 3 Arts Entertainment. Through the company, he has developed and produced projects including the feature film "Big Top," the sitcom series, "For Your Love" (WB); the reality drama, "Trial By Jury" (UPN); the variety series, "Midnight Mac" (HBO); two sitcom pilots: "ColorTV" (Fox) and "The Thing About Family" (NBC); the "Living Single" sound- track (Warner Bros. Records); and the successful musical comedy stage play, "Talk Show Live."

His firm produces event-based programming for the iN Demand pay-per-view network and has developed syndicated programming for the internet portal, BlackTalentNews.com.

Michael A. Brown, Esq. '91 Brown is managing partner at Alcalde & Fay in Arlington, Va. utilizing expertise in international trade, foreign relations, federal and state/local representation and public policy to serve a wide array of clients.

Prior to joining the firm, Brown was with Patton Boggs LLP, where his practice focused on banking, education, energy, housing, telecommunications, health care, tax, transportation and water issues. Brown also worked in those areas at Greenberg Traurig and, before that, on municipal finance issues with Mudge Rose Guthrie Alexander & Ferdon in New York.

Brown was a surrogate speaker during the 1992 and 1996 Clinton-Gore and 2000 Gore-Lieberman presidential campaigns, representing the candidates in debates, speaking at campaign rallies and addressing general policy matters.

He has twice been appointed as a member of U.S. presidential delegations to Africa. He is a board member of the Constituency for Africa, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and he represents various foreign governments.

Brown co-founded America's Fund, a political action committee providing support to candidates of color. He is president and CEO of the Ronald H. Brown Foundation, named for his father, which seeks to carry on the former commerce secretary's commitment to education, political development and international commerce. He sits on the boards of the Washington Boys and Girls Club, is a corporate advisory board member of Comcast Communications and the Whitman Walker Clinic. Brown is a former candidate for mayor of Washington, D.C.

Bernard S. Smalley Sr., Esq. '80 Smalley, shareholder at Anapol Schwartz in Philadelphia, Pa., is known for his personable style, keen cross-examination skills and persuasive closing arguments. He handles medical negligence, pharmaceutical liability, defamation, class actions, products liability and other major personal injury matters.

He has served as a member of the executive committee of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America and currently sits on its board of governors. He has also sat on the Philadelphia Bar Association's board of governors and served in the Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association.

Smalley was the first African-American elected president of the Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association. He frequently lectures on trial techniques before national, state and local trial lawyer and bar associations.

He was awarded the Trailblazer Award in 2002 by the Minority Caucus of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America. The American Bar Association Tort and Insurance Practice Section awarded him their annual Pursuit of Justice Award also that year, and he was later cited by the Legal Intelligencer as one of the 50 most influential minority attorneys in Philadelphia.

Judges of the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas recently elected him to a lifetime appointment to the Philadelphia Board of City Trust, which oversees approximately $750 million in assets.

Smalley is a fellow at the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, where U.S. membership is limited to 500 members. He became a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers in 2004 after a strenuous examination process. Membership in the organization is limited to the top five percent of active U.S. trial lawyers.

Please provide information about prominent women faculty members at your school. Roberta F. Mann Professor Roberta F. Mann teaches tax law on Widener's Delaware campus. She holds a B.S., Master's in Business Administration and J.D. all from Arizona State University and an LL.M., with distinction, from Georgetown University Law Center. She was assistant editor on the Arizona State University Law Journal.

Following law school graduation, Mann joined the Office of Chief Counsel of the Internal Revenue Service for nine years. She then served on the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation, a committee of the U.S. Congress.

Mann taught as a visiting professor of law at University of California at Davis and as an adjunct faculty member in the LL.M. in taxation program at Georgetown University Law Center. She is admitted to practice in Arizona and the District of Columbia.

She joined the Widener faculty in July 1998 and teaches and writes in the areas of federal income tax, business tax, international tax and tax policy.

Mann has been active in a number of professional and civic organizations, including the American Bar Association Tax Section, the Federal Bar Association, the District of Columbia Bar Section of Taxation and the Delaware Tax Institute. She is a fellow of the American College of Tax Counsel and speaks frequently to local and national tax groups.

Dana Harrington Conner Associate Professor Dana Harrington Conner teaches on Widener Law's Delaware campus in the areas of domestic violence and professional responsibility. She also directs the Delaware Civil Clinic, supervising law students admitted to the limited practice of law with a primary focus on representing domestic violence victims.

Before teaching, Harrington Conner was one of the first attorneys in Delaware to represent domestic violence victims seeking civil protection from their abusers. During her term as the domestic violence attorney for Delaware Volunteer Legal Service, she successfully argued the Review of Commissioners' Decisions, helping to define the new law in Delaware. In 1996, she became the managing attorney of Delaware Volunteer Legal Services, where she served until joining Widener's full-time faculty in 2004.

Harrington Conner serves as a member of the Delaware Domestic Violence Coordinating Council, co-chairing the Fatal Incident Review Team, which is responsible for reviewing every Delaware death from domestic violence. In 2002, the American Inns of Court presented her with the Sandra Day O'Connor Professional Service Award for her outstanding work in public interest, pro bono and community service.

She serves as a member of the Delaware Family Law Commission by appointment of the Delaware General Assembly and on the Committee on the Provision of Legal Services to Low Income People of Delaware. Harrington Conner is a pro bono volunteer attorney, serves as a Superior Court arbitrator and acts as a high school mock trial competition judge.

She received her undergraduate degree from the University of South Carolina in 1989 and her juris doctorate from Widener Law in 1992.

Juliet M. Moringiello Juliet M. Moringiello is pofessor of law on Widener's Harrisburg campus. Moringiello is a graduate of the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service and Fordham University School of Law. She holds an LL.M. from Temple University School of Law. She first worked for Emmet, Marvin & Martin in New York, N.Y., where she specialized in real estate and asset-based financing. She is admitted to practice law in New York and Pennsylvania.

Since joining the Widener faculty in 1993, Moringiello has taught property, bankruptcy, secured transactions, payment systems, the law of electronic commerce, sales, business organizations and real estate transactions. She has taught as a visiting professor

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at the University of Pittsburgh, the University of Maryland, the Dickinson School of Law of the Pennsylvania State University and the Universite de Paris X in Nanterre, France.

She is a member of the editorial boards of The Business Lawyer and Business Law Today and is editor of The Business Lawyer's annual survey of cyberspace law. She co-chairs the International Coordinating Committee of the ABA business law section. She is a past chair of the AALS Section of Commercial and Related Consumer Law.

Moringiello is an elected member of the American Law Institute and she serves on the Pennsylvania Joint State Government Commission's Advisory Committee on the Consumer Credit Code. She chairs the Pennsylvania Bar Association's Uniform Commercial Code Task Force.

Please provide information about prominent women alumnae from your school. Cynthia R. Ryan '79 Ryan is general counsel to the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, a major intelligence and combat support agency of the Department of Defense. She is the agency's final legal authority, subject to direction of the Department of Defense general counsel.

Ryan personally and through her staff provides advice on the worldwide mission of the NGA to include geospatial intelligence, homeland security, imagery and geospatial information. She participates in drafting international agreements and is the NGA-des- ignated agency ethics official.

She previously served as chief counsel of the Drug Enforcement Administration and was responsible for managing all the legal issues confronting the DEA worldwide and providing training to all DEA employees. She was the first DEA chief counsel to rise from the rank-and-file, after joining the administration as a staff attorney in the criminal law section. Before joining DEA, Ryan was a trial attorney in the criminal division of the U.S. Justice Department.

She has also served as staff counsel to the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, conducting anti-drug and organized-crime investigations, preparing hearings, testifying and drafting legislation. Her legal career began in the Delaware Attorney General's Office, where she successfully prosecuted homicide and other felony cases.

Her interests include mentoring through her national sorority and the Presidential Management Fellows program.

Claire M. DeMatteis, Esq. '91 As of counsel in the Government & Public Affairs Practice Group at Stradley Ronon in Wilmington, Del., DeMatteis focuses on Delaware and Washington, D.C. government affairs, specializing in legislative and regulatory lobbying, and business development representing Fortune 500 companies, universities, medical centers, nonprofit associations and privately held firms.

DeMatteis formerly served as senior counsel to U.S. Sen. Joseph R. Biden, Jr., a 30-year member of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee and the Senates sixth-highest ranking member. DeMatteis coordinated Sen. Biden's public policy positions and activities between his Washington, D.C., and Delaware offices. She coordinated all grants and appropriations for Delaware and imple- mented Sen. Biden's landmark 1994 Crime Law and Violence Against Women Act.

Prior to that, DeMatteis was assistant legal counsel to former Delaware Gov. Michael N. Castle. She continued to work as a senior legislative aide during his first term in the U.S. House of Representatives. In addition, DeMatteis served as a legislative aide for the Delaware General Assembly.

She is an adjunct professor at the University of Delaware, teaching constitutional law, and at Widener Law, where she wrote, researched and teaches a seminar on the "Intersection of Law and Politics." She is a former television reporter and weekend anchor for WBOC-TV, a CBS-affiliate in Salisbury, Md., and Dover, Del.

DeMatteis is the immediate past-chair of the Delaware State Bar Association's Women and the Law Section.

Sharon L. Caffrey, Esq. '87 Sharon L. Caffrey is a partner at Duane Morriss LLP in Philadelphia, concentrating on mass tort, product liability and toxic tort litigation. Caffrey serves as national coordinating counsel for Pliva, Inc. in its PPA litigation. She is one of a handful of national trial counsel for Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp. in their asbestos litigation, regularly assigned to their asbestos trials nationwide.

Her extensive trial experience includes taking more than 25 cases to verdict and starting trials in more than 75 cases. One third of her verdicts have been in medical malpractice cases involving a wide range of issues with remaining trials including a variety of mass tort and other health-effects defense cases.

Caffrey has chaired the Mealey's conference on "Email, Discovery and Retention Policies," is a frequent speaker on the topic of eDiscovery issues and is a member of the firm's eDiscovery Initiative.

She has spoken at the Mealey's Asbestos Litigation Seminar and the American Conference Institute Asbestos Litigation Seminar. Caffrey is vice chair of the Toxic Tort and Environmental Law Committee of the American Bar Association and is a member of the New Jersey State and Camden County bar associations, the Committee on Women in the Profession of the Philadelphia Bar Association, the Executive Committee for the Philadelphia Association of Defense Counsel and the Defense Research Institute.

Student Organizations

Please provide information on your school diversity student and alumni organizations. For exam- ple, student-run associations and journals/publications. Alumni organization:

The Widener Women's Network The Widener Women's Network is dedicated to increasing the awareness and exposure of Widener University School of Law alumnae by providing networking opportunities to meet other professionals and developing potential mentoring and professional support. The organization meets at least three times a year.

Student organizations: Harrisburg campus:

Black Law Students Association/Minority Law Students Association (BLSA/MLSA) http://www.law.widener.edu/current/black_law_students_assn_hb.shtml. Organization open to all students on the Harrisburg campus, made up predominantly of diversity students. The group sponsors programs, blood drives and social activities. It meets monthly.

Women's Law Caucus http://www.law.widener.edu/current/womens_law_caucus_hb.shtml. Organization open to all students on the Harrisburg campus, with a goal for creating a professional environment for women within the law school, and encouraging recognition and discussion of women's contributions to the legal field. Meets monthly.

Student organizations: Delaware campus:

Association of Latin American & Hispanic Students Open to all students on the Delaware campus. Meets several times each semester.

Dedicated to familiarizing all law students with the broad Latino and Hispanic cultures and values and well as heightening awareness of what it may entail to represent clients with these backgrounds in the American legal system. The group strives to increase the number of competent lawyers capable of assisting Latino and Hispanic clients.

Asian Pacific American Law Student Association http://www.law.widener.edu/current/asian_pacific_de.shtml Open to all students on the Delaware campus. Meets several times each semester. The Asian Pacific American Law Student Association (APALSA) is dedicated to providing a social and professional outlet for law students who are interested in the legal issues surrounding Asians, as well as other cultures, languages, and ethnicities.

Black Law Students Association Open to all students on the Delaware campus. Meets several times each semester. The Black Law Students Association is dedicated to providing a social and professional outlet for law students interested in legal issues involving the African-American culture. Its members have an interest in advancing African Americans in the practice of law.

Native American Law Students Association

Gay and Straight Student Alliance http://www.law.widener.edu/current/gay_straight_alliance_de.shtml. Open to all students on the Delaware campus. Meets several times each semester. The organization serves dual purposes. First, it brings Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender (LGBT) students together in a safe and comfortable environment. Second, it acts as an emissary to the Widener student body and the greater Wilmington and Philadelphia areas.

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Jewish Law Student Association http://www.law.widener.edu/current/jewish_law_assoc_de.shtml. Open to all students on the Delaware campus. Meets several times each semester. The organization is committed to encouraging participation in the Jewish community, increasing the understanding of the faith, nurturing relationships between its members and respective organizations, increasing awareness of the Jewish heritage's influence on legal issues, and acquainting Widener students with the many resources available in the area.

Justinian Society http://www.law.widener.edu/current/justinian_de.shtml. Open to all students on the Delaware campus. Meets several times each semester. The Justinian Society is a group of students who unite as an Italian-American organization. The society provides a social and professional outlet for law students interested in legal issues surrounding Italian-Americans. Its mission is to increase awareness by inspiring a need for a deeper understanding of political, cultural, historical and legal roles of Italian-American people.

Women's Law Caucus http://www.law.widener.edu/current/womens_law_caucus_de.shtml. Open to all students on the Delaware campus. Meets several times each semester. The group works for the advancement of women in law school, the legal community, and society by providing emotional, academic, and professional support. It sponsors and promotes mentoring programs, networking activities, open forums, community involvement, and awareness of women's health issues. Membership is open to all students, faculty, and alumnae who are interested in women's issues that embrace equality in terms of race, gender, sexual preference, religion, culture, class, and ability.

Brehon Society Open to all students on the Delaware campus. Meets several times each semester. Organization dedicated to building relationships between and advancing the interests of Irish-American law students.

Please also provide information on any classes and concentrations that focus on issues related to women or minorities, such as Civil Rights Law. The Harrisburg campus offers: • a public-interest seminar • class on civil and political rights • class on children and the law • class on juvenile law • class on family law • class on disability law • class on employment discrimination • clinic opportunities where students, acting as lawyers, represent battered women and the indigent

The Delaware campus offers: • a seminar on race, gender and sports • class on equal protection • class on the first amendment • class on children and the law • class on juvenile justice • a seminar on domestic violence • class on disability law • class on employment discrimination • class on family law • class on equal protection • several clinics where students, acting as lawyers, represent battered women and the indigent

Please describe any diversity recruiting events for employers recruiting minority and/or women students at or near your school. Harrisburg campus: 1.) The law school participates in the Dauphin County Bar Association's Minority Recruitment Program. The school publicizes the program in the fall and encourages students of color to submit resumes for summer positions. The recruitment committee contacts students directly and schedules interviews with local law firms. The bulk of placements are first-year minority law students.

Delaware campus: 1.) Widener law has played a central role for eight years in planning and hosting the Delaware Minority Job fair twice annually on the Wilmington campus. The event, sponsored by the Delaware State Bar Association and a group of legal employers interested in increasing diversity, is held each August and January. Widener's Career Development Office coordinates all the on- site planning for the fair, which features a breakfast, notable keynote speakers and networking with employers. Minority law students submit applications to be invited to attend the fair.

2.) The DuPont Primary Law Firm Minority Job Fair sponsored by the DuPont legal department in Wilmington, Del. operates with a goal for increasing minority representation in law firms where DuPont has retained outside counsel. The fair is generally held in August and participants are selected by application.

3.) The Philadelphia Area Minority Job Fair was created through a partnership of the Legal Recruitment Administrators of Philadelphia and the Philadephia Area Law School Administrators to address the issue of minority recruitment in the legal profession. The fair provides minority students the opportunity to meet with large law firms, major corporations, public interest organizations, government agencies and the judiciary. Widener Law publicizes this event and students need only sign up to attend.

4.) The law school participates in the Philadelphia Diversity Law Group, whose mission is to increase the number of attorneys of diverse backgrounds working at firms and in corporate law departments in the greater Philadelphia region. The program focuses exclusively on first-year summer hiring.

5.) The law school promotes annual receptions for diverse students hosted by the Philadelphia Legal Recruiters Association and the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office, which are usually well-attended by Widener candidates.

Strategic Plan and Diversity Leadership

Please provide your school's diversity mission statement if applicable. The mission statement of Widener University School of Law lists among its goals: to "Develop a law school community whose diversity enriches the lives of all members and where our students are prepared for living and working in a pluralistic and ever- changing world."

Within that goal are the following objectives:

Objective: recruit and retain law students who will constitute a diverse law school community. Objective: attract a diverse faculty of the most qualified candidates. Objective: establish and enhance curricular and co-curricular programs that support a welcoming and diverse law school community.

How does your school's leadership communicate the importance of diversity of your student body, faculty and administration? Both campuses: All of Widener Law is under the direction of Dean Linda L. Ammons, one of only three female, African- American law deans in the country. The dean regularly expresses her commitment to diversity at our school, in both word and deed, and works diligently to foster an atmosphere of inclusion.

Both campuses have faculty diversity committees, made up of professors and administrators dedicated to organizing and promoting programs and events that celebrate diversity. The committees can also act as a liaison between students, faculty and the admin-

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istration as needed and they provide a place students can go with concerns and ideas. These committees are charged with organizing the annual Martin Luther King Jr. holiday observances, which are celebrated each year with thoughtful programs.

Harrisburg campus: Vice Dean Loren D. Prescott Jr., who runs the campus on a day-to-day basis, founded the Harrisburg campus diversity initiative in late 2005. The ongoing initiative forged a partnership between the law campus and leaders in the central Pennsylvania legal community, to advise the school on ways to boost diversity in admissions, student life, career services and the hiring of faculty and staff.

The campus in March 2007 will host a daylong Dean's Leadership Conference focused on ethnic diversity in higher education. The day will include a keynote address from Dr. Frank Hale Jr., vice provost and professor emeritus at Ohio State University who helped establish the school's Frank W. Hale Jr. Black Cultural Center, panel discussions and breakout sessions that involve Prescott's diversity initiative steering board.

Delaware campus: Student leaders on the Delaware campus, organized through our Student Bar Association plan "Diversity Week" every February. The week includes daily events on a variety of topics with a goal of promoting diversity within the legal profession, and acceptance of people's differences within society at large. One of the most popular events is "Widener Fusion," a dinner where students, faculty and administrators gather for an evening meal of international food with music and entertainment.

Please provide any additional information regarding your school's diversity initiatives that you wish to share. 1.) Student leaders on the Delaware campus, organized through the Student Bar Association are signing onto the American Bar Association Law Student Division's "diversity pipeline" initiative in the spring 2007. The initiative is intended to bolster the number of minorities in America's law schools by reaching out to minority undergraduate students.

2.) In spring 2007, the Alumni and Development Office will spearhead an effort to recruit minority alumni from both campuses to serve on a special committee that will address issues related to diversity. Primary on the committee's agenda will be the cre- ation of a substantial (i.e. full- or half-tuition) scholarship to benefit a minority student. The committee will also address topics such as recruitment, mentoring, and job placement for minority students and will attempt to create events/activities to con- nect minority alumni with the law school.