Law School Admission Council Creates $10 Million Diversity Initiative - Brief Article

Black Issues in Higher Education, Jan 18, 2001

NEWTON, PA.

The Law School Admission Council has created a $10 million, 5-year effort to encourage law schools to rethink their admission policies and adopt strategies that will achieve greater diversity in the legal profession.

Called the "Initiative to Advance Education on the LSAT," the effort comes in response to concerns expressed by law schools that recent court decisions have severely limited affirmative action efforts in admission. According to many admission officials, law schools need new tools to encourage more diversity on campus and to protect the gains made over the past three decades. To achieve this, law schools must look past traditional, "numbers-only" admission schemes and avoid the historic overreliance on the LSAT.

"It is an unfortunate tendency of many law schools to place undue emphasis upon the LSAT," says Rennard Strickland, dean of the University of Oregon School of Law and chair of the LSAC Board of Trustees. "While the LSAT is an important predictor of law school performance, it must be placed in the proper perspective. Education about the appropriate use of the LSAT, backed up by careful research and the development of new admissions models, is critical if we are to meet our responsibilities as educators in a diverse society. This fund will help achieve these goals."

The fund is the largest established in the history of the LSAC for such an initiative. It was approved unanimously by the LSAC Board of Trustees late last month.