AALS Committee on Recruitment and Retention of Minority Law Teachers and Students

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Session Type: AALS Programs

Session Capacity: N/A

Hotel: Marriott Marquis Washington, DC

Room: Judiciary Square

Floor: Level M3

This panel will identify and address obstacles that have persistently hampered the ability of law schools to recruit more diverse faculties. Topics will include: diversifying the qualities faculties consider consistent with potential for scholarly excellence; expanding searches beyond the AALS FRC process; avoiding hyper-competition for a small number of diverse candidates with traditionally strong qualifications; responding to school-centric issues related to market-position and challenging geography/locations; resisting the urge to make the hiring decision a proxy for the tenure decision; and examining how recent U. S. Supreme Court affirmative action decisions are likely to bleed into faculty hiring standards. Panelists will discuss burgeoning strategies and proven best practices for addressing recurring hurdles that have frustrated efforts to achieve more inclusive faculties.