JBHE: Latest News for 1/29/09

The Four Finalists for Dean of the University of New Mexico School of Law Are All Members of Minority Groups

It is common practice for corporations and elected officials to name black candidates for inclusion on their “short list” of prospective appointees. This is often done as window dressing to show an institutional commitment to racial diversity, when in fact there is no intention to appoint a minority candidate to the position.

Universities and professional schools also frequently name a black or minority candidate among the finalists for the position of president or dean even though there is little likelihood that a minority candidate will be named to the post.

But no one can make any of these charges against the University of New Mexico School of Law. All four finalists for the position of dean are people of color:

• Michael A. Olivas, a law professor at the University of Houston, is of Mexican descent;

• Antoinette Sedillo Lopez, a professor of law at the University of New Mexico, is Latina;

• Kevin K. Washburn, a professor of law at the University of Arizona, is an American Indian; and

• Gregory A. Hicks, interim dean and professor of law at the University of Washington, is an African American. Professor Hicks is a 1972 graduate of Yale University. He earned his law degree at the University of Texas.

The fact that all four candidates are members of minority groups is particularly noteworthy in view of the racial makeup of the student body at the University of New Mexico School of Law. Whites make up nearly half of the student body. Blacks are only 3.2 percent of the total enrollments.