The University of Wisconsin Law School has been recognized as a school "Where Diversity Works." In its most recent issue (March 2004), the National Jurist, a magazine for law students, looked at enrollments of women and minorities and highlighted five law schools that have created environments that welcome and encourage women and students of color. The University of Wisconsin Law School was one of the five.

According to the article, there are certain traits that these five schools share. In the schools where diversity works there is leadership from the top supporting its importance and prioritizing the student experience. There is a genuine commitment to open communication between faculty, administrators, staff, and students. And students feel supported and valued. Quoting second-year UW Law School student Tanja Smith, the article says, "Knowing that there is support for women and students of color makes it possible for my primary focus to be on law school every single day."

Beth Kransberger, Dean of Admissions at the UW Law School, told the Jurist, "We were a law school that grasped the issues of race and gender early on. The faculties of the late ?60s and early ?70s really took . . . equality to heart with respect to the law school."

The article goes on to mention that "The student body is almost 27 percent minority in a state that is 88 percent white."

The article also states that the UW Law School "welcomes women returning from raising children or other careers." Again quoting Kransberger,  "One of the profound aspects is the quality of the student body. Our alumni tell us that one of the most valuable pieces of their experience with us is their experience of their colleagues. It's not Utopia, but it's the result of a broadly held commitment that flows through the administration and faculty." (All on page 24.)

The article included 172 law schools in its survey of diversity.

Submitted by on March 23, 2004

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