2022 Diversity & Belonging Brochure

Diversity and Belonging at Minnesota Law

“At Minnesota Law, we take pride in cultivating a supportive and inclusive community. Our exceptional faculty and dedicated staff prioritize the Law School’s and the University’s deep commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. We strive to create a community of belonging while improving our institution, our profession, and the legal system in the process.”

GARRY W. JENKINS

Dean and William S. Pattee Professor of Law

Dean Garry W. Jenkins is the eleventh dean in the Law School’s history. He is an award-winning scholar in the fields of nonprofit law, global justice, and corporate law. Prior to entering academia, he clerked for a federal appellate court judge, worked for a New York City law firm, and was chief operating officer and general counsel for one of the ten largest corporate foundations in the country.

(Below) Dean Garry W. Jenkins joined students from the Black Law Students Association (BLSA) to celebrate BLSA’s 50th anniversary last year.

Welcome to the Minnesota Law community

Eric Locker, 3L, and Job Okeri, 2L, currently serve as the 2022–23 Law Council president and vice president, respectively. This year, they are expanding the ways in which Law Council supports student organizations, championing initiatives like “Walter’s Wardrobe” that offers students access to professional clothing. Law Council continues to work to make Minnesota Law a welcoming community of belonging where all students feel celebrated.

The diverse student body at the University of Minnesota Law School is drawn from across the state, the nation, and from around the world. With a dedication to academic excellence and a transformational education for future lawyer-leaders, Minnesota Law cultivates a community that celebrates each student’s individual contribution to our inclusive, diverse, and equitable learning environment.

Together, with our students, Minnesota Law faculty, staff, and alumni carry a shared sense of responsibility that extends beyond our walls as we strive toward creating lasting change and a more just society for all.

SAM FERGUSON, 2L, is from Atlanta, Georgia. He has a BA from the University of Georgia where he studied violin performance, music theory, and education. Sam is a member of both OUTLaw and the Business Law Students Association. This year, he is on the staff of Minnesota Law Review and is working as a legal research and writing instructor. He is also working as a teaching assistant for Professor Mitchell Zamoff’s undergraduate law course. He worked as a summer associate at Lathrop GPM in Minneapolis, where he currently serves as an asylum law clerk.

Diversity and Belonging at Minnesota Law

Ra’Shya Ghee ’13 joined Minnesota Law’s senior leadership team this fall as the assistant dean of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Prior to joining Minnesota Law, she worked as a family law and criminal defense attorney, consulted with organizations to center racial equity and anti-racist frameworks, and facilitated cross-racial coaching.

How We Commit to Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

> Through the dedicated work of the Racial Equity & Justice Committee, which is tasked with working towards structural change, accountability, and transparency

> By hiring senior leadership and staff focused on diversity, equity & inclusion, such as Ra’Shya Ghee ’13, who recently joined Minnesota Law as the Assistant Dean of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

> By offering scholarships for diverse and underrepresented students like the Judge Pamela G. Alexander ’77 Scholarship and the Judge Michael J. Davis ’72 Scholarship

> Through rigorous and expanded courses that explore the intersections of race and the law

> By offering the Racial Equity Justice Milestone, a professional development opportunity for students that explores racial equity and justice issues in law and society Learn more at Z.UMN.EDU/MNLAWDEI

Commit to a more just and equitable society

The University of Minnesota Law School is committed to creating a more just society for our local, national, and international communities. This year, Minnesota Law launched the Racial Justice Law Clinic, which engages students in critical scholarship while working with clients and communities to make a difference at the intersection of race and the law. Pictured above with Professor Liliana Zaragoza is the inaugural student cohort of the Racial Justice Law Clinic. The students say, “ We are looking forward to contributing to the process of building a legal clinic from the ground up and leveraging University resources to address structural, institutional, and interpersonal racism across the Twin Cities and beyond. To us, that means engaging in critical legal scholarship and, more importantly, building authentic relationships with the individuals and community organizations with whom we will be partnering throughout the year.”

Madelyn Cox-Guerra, 3L, is from Kansas City, Missouri. Madelyn received support from the Human Rights Center to fund her summer clerkship with the National Center for Youth Law. She also serves as president of the Minnesota Justice Foundation – Student Chapter. Madelyn has had several opportunities to foster diversity and justice through involvement with the Detainee Rights Clinic, the Latinx Law Student Association, Minnesota Hispanic Bar Association, the National Lawyers Guild, and the Journal of Law & Inequality.

Professor Liliana Zaragoza (center), who leads the Racial Justice Law Clinic, is pictured with clinic students Brandon Redmon, 2L, Lucy Chin, 2L, Evan Dale, 2L, and Simon Earle, 2L

Selma El-Badawi, 2L, Julian Roby, 2L, and Anika Reza, 3L, are RISE student instructors for the 2022-23 academic year. RISE, or Race-Informed Study Experience, is open to

the experience of BIPOC and other underrepresented

BEST STATE TO LIVE (U.S. News and World Report)

Connect with the diverse Twin Cities community

Located in the heart of the Twin Cities, Minnesota Law is part of a global community of people who come for more opportunity, to further their education, or to work for one of the many Fortune 500 companies located just minutes from campus. Minneapolis and St. Paul both earned perfect scores for inclusive policies and practices toward LGBTQ residents in a new ranking from the Human Rights Campaign.

With more than 35 active student organizations, access to Twin Cities professional affinity groups, diverse programming and events, opportunities to engage with local alumni, and the close connections you’ll make with your peers, Minnesota Law is an exciting place to begin your transformational legal education.

Minneapolis ranked

BEST CITY FOR YOUNG PROFESSIONALS. (SmartAsset)

FORTUNE 500 COMPANIES

Minnesota

FRIENDLIEST STATE (World Population Review)

SAMIA OSMAN, 3L, is from Minneapolis, Minnesota. This summer she worked in the civil rights and impact litigation group of Nichols Kaster, a premium plaintiff firm in downtown Minneapolis. She is currently serving as a student director for the Human Rights Litigation and International Advocacy Clinic and as a student instructor for the Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Moot Court. She will be competing on the Jessup Moot Court Competition team and is a student representative on Minnesota Law’s Racial Equity and Justice Committee.

EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING FOR

Learn in an inclusive academic environment

The University of Minnesota Law School prepares students to solve the complex social, economic, and business issues of our time in an inclusive academic environment that provides students with mental health, wellness, and accessibility support while you learn. Our exceptional faculty, innovative curriculum, and unmatched clinical and experiential learning opportunities equip students to become lawyer-leaders for the region, the country, and the world. At Minnesota Law, you can participate in one of four student-edited journals, earn a transcript notation when you complete the Racial Equity and Justice Milestone or Professional Essentials Milestone, participate in National Moot Court, and gain hands-on experience by participating in field placements or one or more of our 25+ diverse legal clinics.

ERIC QUINTANA-SNYDER, 2L is from Alamosa, Colorado. He spent the summer working as a judicial intern for Colorado Supreme Court Justice Monica M. Márquez. He is currently serving as a 2L representative and events director on Law Council and as a staff member of the Minnesota Journal of International Law. He is also a member of the International Law Society, OUTLaw, and is the Tech Director of the Theatre of the Relatively Talentless (T.O.R.T.)

Diversity

at Minnesota Law

Prepare for your career

a lawyer-leader

Law is distinguished by a rare collegial culture that emphasizes teamwork, problem solving,

and persuasion. Students learn to think analytically, to identify the core elements of complex problems, and to develop real-world solutions—skills that are essential beyond law school, for all fields of employment. Through the transformative legal education, experiential learning opportunities, and career support you will receive at Minnesota Law, you will be prepared meet the challenges of our time.

Diversity and Belonging at Minnesota Law

University of Minnesota Law School

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