Dear Fordham Law Community, 

For those of you new to Fordham Law, welcome, and for those returning, welcome back! Our monthly newsletter provides the latest DEI news, initiatives, and programs that are happening at the Law School and at the University.

Below you will find a selection of stories that you may have missed over the winter break and some of the latest spring semester announcements. Please note that there are many exciting programs coming up in the next few weeks, which I hope you consider attending.

I would also like to take this moment to reflect upon Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his vision for positive change in light of recent tragedies in our nation. Earlier this month, we celebrated and honored Dr. King’s life and work through various acts of community service. In serving our communities, we realize that there is still work to be done in terms of equity and inclusion. The Fordham Law community continues to stand as a beacon of hope in preparing the next generation of attorneys who promote fairness and justice for all. One of my favorite quotes from Dr. King—“Life’s more persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’”—is one that I keep in mind daily.

Dr. King’s dream of empowerment and inclusion still resonates, and I look forward to partnering with you in strengthening our collective mission of cura personalis, or care of the whole person.  In caring for one another as we care for our communities, please find a curated collection of diverse student wellness resources posted on the Office of Student Affairs website.

Be well,

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

Please join us for the Second Annual Eunice Carter Lecture, “Policing Black Families and Black Bodies: A Conversation with Dorothy Roberts,” on Wednesday, February 1. In discussing her new book, “Torn Apart: How the Child Welfare System Destroys Black Families—And How Abolition Can Build A Safer World,” Professor Dorothy Roberts will relate her work on family policing to police surveillance, carceral logics, and abortion bans.

Register here

Gay McDougall, distinguished scholar-in-residence at the Leitner Center for International Law and Justice and Center for Race, Law and Justice, was presented with the inaugural Nelson Mandela Award at the 2023 Association of American Law Schools annual meeting earlier this year. Presented by the AALS’s Section on International Human Rights, the award recognizes “an outstanding law teacher or teachers, or other individuals who, in the course of their career, have made an exceptional contribution to international human rights.”

“During the 20 years that I worked against apartheid with South African lawyers, it never occurred to me that I would ever meet Nelson Mandela and have an opportunity to work with him as I did,” said McDougall. “And it certainly never occurred to me that many years later, I would receive an award that identifies me and my work with all that his name symbolizes. This, to say the least, is humbling.”

Read more

The Center on Asian Americans and the Law formally launched at Fordham Law during the fall 2022 semester after months of long-awaited anticipation. 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 among the first in the country to focus on the intersection of the Asian American experience with legal studies.

We warmly welcome Professors Anita Allen of Penn Law and Harold Koh of Yale Law, who are joining us for the spring semester as our Bacon-Kilkenny Distinguished Visiting Professor and Bacon-Kilkenny Distinguished Fellow respectively. Prof. Allen is internationally renowned as an expert on philosophical dimensions of privacy and data protection law, ethics, bioethics, legal philosophy, women’s rights, and diversity in higher education. A former legal adviser of the U.S. Department of State, Prof. Koh has testified frequently before Congress and has argued regularly before U.S. and international courts, most recently appearing before the International Court of Justice on behalf of Ukraine against Russia in March 2022.

Happy Lunar New Year! Fordham’s Asian Pacific American Law Student Association handed out goodie bags to celebrate the upcoming Year of the Rabbit.

Congratulations to Arianna Hopkins ’25 who has been named to the 2022 class of LMJ Scholars. Having spent her professional career advocating for underrepresented and marginalized communities in political and legal spaces, Hopkins continues to demonstrate a commitment to academics, community service, and diversity, equity and inclusion while showing great promise as a next generation legal leader.

In a special observance of International Holocaust Remembrance Day (January 27), a panel of leading thinkers convened at Lincoln Center to discuss how media, educators, religious institutions, and governments can fight Holocaust denial and deepen understanding of the genocide. The event, titled “Remembering: Talking About the Holocaust in the 21st Century,” was hosted by Fordham University and the Under-Told Stories Project of the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota, in partnership with the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York.

Michelle Silverthorn, founder of Inclusion Nation, delivered this year’s keynote address at the 4th Annual January Orientation for first-year students. Silverthorn’s talk focused on DEI and belonging in law school and the legal profession.

Also during orientation, students heard from 39 alumni on DEI best practices in the practice of law, through 12 interactive and practice-specific panel discussions and presentations. Panel topics included “Navigating the Legal Profession through a BIPOC Lens,” “LGBTQ+ Advocacy and Allyship in Law School and the Legal Profession,” “Understanding Religious Diversity for Law School and Legal Settings,” “Understanding Legal Perspectives Surrounding Physical and Learning Disabilities in Law School and the Legal Profession,” and more.

Congratulations to Shivani Parikh ’24 who was named a member of the Clinton Global Initiative University 2023 Cohort at the Clinton Global Initiative. “I am excited to join this dynamic community of students committed to developing innovative solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges and to begin my journey of establishing the South Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SAALDEF),” said Parikh.

Save the Date! 

Fordham Law Women will be hosting its 5th annual symposium at the Fordham campus after two years of webinars to discuss the state of the legal profession for women on Tuesday, March 7. The event will feature panels discussing reproductive rights following the repeal of Roe v. Wade and changes in defamation law. In celebration of FLW’s and Fordham’s Black Law Students Association’s 50th anniversaries, founders of each group will participate in the final panel with current student leaders to discuss the groups’ origins and paths toward a more equitable and diverse profession.

Register here

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? Connect with us!

Email Erin DeGregorio