Courtesy of the Daily Texan
By Chrissy Ragan (Daily Texan Staff) October 19, 2001
The University's School of Law ranked No. 1 in the nation for Hispanics, according to the annual survey by Hispanic Business magazine.
The magazine's ranking of the top 10 law schools for Hispanics is based on five categories: Hispanic enrollment, faculty, student services, retention rate and national reputation, said J. Tabin Cosio, research supervisor for Hispanic Business magazine.
Time magazine's Sept. 17 edition also named the UT School of Law the No. 1 school reaching out to a diverse applicant pool.
"We're delighted to be recognized because we've worked very hard to attract a diverse student body and to be a school that is supportive of Mexican-American students," said Bill Powers, dean of the School of Law. "With the students we attract, scholarships and our faculty, we are a top law school."
The School of Law had a 98-percent overall retention rate for the 1999-2000 school year, with a 97 percent retention rate for Hispanics. Of the 113 Hispanics who enrolled in fall 1999, only three were not registered in fall 2000.
Currently, there are 142 Hispanic law students out of 1,453 students total. Faculty demographics reveal that of the 53 tenured professors, two are Hispanic. There are four Hispanic visiting professors out of 17, and nine Hispanic adjunct or part-time professors out of 102.
A major effort in recent years to diversify the law school has been aimed toward pre-law education, Powers said, with new summer institutes at UT-San Antonio and UT-Pan American campuses offering programs with hopes of expanding the pool of Mexican-American applicants.
Shelli Soto, dean of admissions at the UT School of Law, said the school has been working hard to make sure it recruits and enrolls a diverse population. "We have a strong commitment to diversity," Soto said.
Schools that make it on the list usually have several student services for Hispanic students, Cosio said. These services include Hispanic law organizations and mentoring programs, he added.
The UT Chicano/Hispanic Law Students' Association, geared at helping students get through law school, is one such organization that aims to provide services for Hispanics at the University. Christina Garcia, a third-year law student and secretary of CHLSA, said students join the organization for different reasons.
"Some join for support, and others for academic resources," Garcia said, adding that the organization, consisting of 105 members, is open to all law students, not just minorities. "But it is a good way to meet other people coming from the same place you are," Garcia said.
What makes the UT School of Law so deserving of its No. 1 ranking is the support of the administration, Garcia said, adding that Powers is helping fund a trip for 12 CHLSA members to UC-Berkely next weekend for the three-day National Latino Law Students Conference.
"The administration overall is just very supportive of our endeavors,"
Garcia said.