Dear Fordham Law Community, 

As the end of the fall semester approaches, I’m pleased to share the latest news and accomplishments of our community as well as the variety of DEI programs and initiatives offered at the Law School and University as featured below.

I look forward to highlighting the continued efforts of our vibrant community to enhance diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, and justice in law school and the legal profession.

Be well,

Kamille Dean
Senior Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Office of Student Affairs

Please note: The DEI newsletter will go on a brief hiatus during the winter break and will be back to its monthly schedule at the beginning of the spring semester.

Fordham Law received an A+ rating as a “Top School for Racial Justice” in preLaw magazine’s fall 2022 issue.

“I am proud that we are getting attention for this important work,” said Dean Matthew Diller. “We are very focused on ensuring our students leave with an understanding of the role that race plays in our legal system and in our society through coursework, student advocacy groups, conferences, symposia, and our academic centers.”

Read more

The Center on Asian Americans and the Law formally launched at Fordham Law School on November 9. Co-directed by Senior U.S. Circuit Court Judge Denny Chin ’78, Lawrence W. Pierce Distinguished Jurist in Residence, and Thomas H. Lee, Leitner Family Professor of International Law, the Center is the first of its kind on the East Coast and functions as a hub and platform for interdisciplinary scholarship on issues of interest, not only to the Asian American and Pacific Islander community.

“By bringing light to some of the nearly-forgotten corners of our legal history, [the Center] can give color and shape to the centuries-long struggle of Asian Americans’ to achieve equality in this country,” said Dean Diller. “And, by digging deep in our examination of this experience, we can gain insights that can influence the course of the future.”

Fordham Law’s LGBTQ+ student affinity group OUTLaws established a new task force, Advocates for Trans Law Students (ATLS), which looks to provide support for transgender and non-binary students at Fordham Law as well as bring awareness to nationwide trans issues.

“We’re here to support each other and advocate for each other’s needs—not only at an institutional level here at Fordham Law, but also at the national level and throughout students’ careers [after graduation],” said ATLS Co-Founder Grey Cohen ’24 ahead of Transgender Awareness Week (November 13-19). “There’s a lot at stake right now for trans rights, and we are here to bring visibility to the barriers people put in front of us. Us being here is proof that we can break those barriers.”

Read more

Through the brand new Global Anti-Racism Clinic, students will work with international and regional experts on cases and projects that make efforts to combat systemic racism in a range of contexts. The clinic is led by Professor Paolo Galizzi; Professor Gay McDougall, a member of the UN Committee on Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) and a distinguished scholar-in-residence at the Center on Race, Law and Justice and the Leitner Center; Center on Race, Law and Justice Executive Director Zenande Booi; and Leitner Center Executive Director Elisabeth Wickeri.

Watch a video about the Global Anti-Racism Clinic here.

View the entire clinic video series here.

Fordham’s South Asian Law Students Association celebrated Diwali for the very first time at the Law School on Murphy Veranda.

Members of the First-Generation Law Students organization mingled with alumni at F1GS’ Alumni Meet & Greet on the Lincoln Center campus, ahead of First Generation Student Day (November 8).

In celebration of Native American History Month, photographer Lester Harragarra shared his photo exhibition of powwows and other cultural gatherings at the 6th Annual Native American Festival, presented on both campuses by Fordham University’s Office of Multicultural Affairs’ Native and Indigenous Peoples’ Month Committee. Harragarra also donated one of his prints highlighting the Kiowa Black Leggings Warrior Society to the University’s Office of Multicultural Affairs, which will be on exhibit for the community year round.

Despite originally being medically disqualified, MarcAnthony Parrino ’24 joined the U.S. Marine Corps in 2015. He became an infantry officer—deploying twice to the Middle East, including once to Afghanistan—and returned home in 2019.

Read more about MarcAnthony here.

The REAL Scholars Friendsgiving, held on November 4, served as the REAL Scholars Program’s final fall semester event. Participants, peer mentors, teaching assistants, and administrators gathered together for a wonderful meal and students reflected on their first semester of law school. The dinner strengthened community bonds that REAL students have built with Fordham Law School as well as with fellow 1Ls admitted to the program.

“Working with you all as part of a program that is committed to bringing more and more people like yourselves into the field of law really is what gets my blood flowing,” said Kimathi Gordon-Somers, assistant dean of student affairs and diversity. “I’ve really enjoyed getting the opportunity to know each and every one of you, and I look forward to working with you more as you become the future of our profession.”

On November 16, 130 students met and networked with attorneys, recruiters, and diversity professionals from more than 60 firms and organizations at CPC’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Networking Reception. It was the first in-person event of its kind at the Law School.

Read more in New York Law Journal

Fordham Law presented Kenneth C. Frazier, executive chair of Merck & Co., with the 2022 Fordham-Stein Prize at an award ceremony. At a moment of increasing social and political division in the country, Frazier used his platform to implore the audience of judges, academics, and leaders in practice to reflect on the power lawyers have to help others and to fight to make our country’s “sacred creeds” real for all Americans, no matter their background.

On November 19, college students met remotely with Fordham Law faculty and staff to learn more about law school and the application process after participating in the Council on Legal Education Opportunity (CLEO) Thurgood Marshall Legal Educational Opportunity Program. CLEO plays an integral role in the Law School’s Increasing Diversity in Education and the Law (IDEAL) pipeline program, which seeks to engage college students who are interested in pursuing a law degree or who have an interest in the law. 

Adjunct Professor John Owens Jr. ’04 spoke about practicing law in the “real world” and his everyday life serving as legal counsel to a Justice of the New York State Supreme Court.

There are always additional events happening at Fordham University through the Office of Multicultural Affairs. Take a look at their offerings to find an upcoming program. 

Have a news story or photos you’d like to submit for consideration?

Email Erin DeGregorio