Date: June 25, 2001
UT Law Leads Nation in Private Initiatives for Recruiting
AUSTIN, TEXAS – The University of Texas School of Law’s
innovative private initiatives stand at the cutting edge of minority recruitment
across the U.S.A.’s law schools. Proposed and initiated with private funds
and the volunteer time of the law school’s faculty, administration, and alumni,
these initiatives set the standard for expanding the applicant pool of qualified
students and helping to provide a basic pre-law preparation for those who are
considering applying to law school.
The ground-breaking private initiatives fall into three categories:
- Recruiting in the pool of qualified applicants. Students, faculty,
and alumni volunteers work with public colleges to encourage minority applicants
to apply, and to encourage admitted students to attend. The volunteer initiative
helps students afford their application fees and meet alumni at receptions.
The Texas Exes have raised more than $1.2 million in private funds for minority
scholarships, including a significant donation from UT alum and Heisman trophy
winner Ricky Williams, an award known as the Ricky Williams Endowed Presidential
Scholarship in Law.
Of special note, Senator Rodney Ellis, UT Law ’79, and Texas Secretary of State
Henry Cuellar, UT Law ’81, convinced several national airlines to provide complimentary
airline tickets to prospective students, thus encouraging students to visit
the University of Texas campus.
- Pre-law preparation at public colleges. The law school took the
lead in creating the UT System Law School Partnership Task Force. In cooperation
with UT System officials, other Texas law schools, and pre-law faculty at
sister institutions, this group works together to better prepare undergraduates
at UT El Paso, UT San Antonio, UT Pan American, and UT Brownsville to compete
as law school applicants and to succeed in law school. The law school faculty
played a crucial role in developing the pre-law curriculum at these schools.
In addition to planning, the faculty has participated each summer in teaching
in the intensive analytic program. The law school raised funds and coordinated
efforts on these campuses to encourage students to prepare for the LSAT and
to enroll in preparatory classes for free or at a reduced cost.
- Mentoring admitted students. The law school has increased its efforts
to establish mentoring relationships between all newly admitted students and
current students or alumni. Student volunteers as members of the Student
Recruitment and Orientation Committee currently call and write the admitted
students to offer assistance and answer questions.
Such efforts have paid off in the dramatic improvements in minority recruitment.
The University of Texas School of Law reported a significant increase in minority
enrollment for the Fall 2000 entering class. The most dramatic change comes
in the number of African American students enrolled -- 18, compared to 7 in
1999, an increase of more than 100%. There are also 34 Mexican American first-year
law students at UT, a gain of 2 over the previous year.
For more information please go to http://tarlton.law.utexas.edu/hopwood
