School of Law seeks diversity

Charleston student chapter plans scholarship fund

Enrollment of black students at the nation's top law schools has declined slightly over a 10-year period, according to The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education. Ten of the top 15 schools have seen a drop ranging from 0.1 percent to 4.5 percent.

Nationally, an average of 7 percent of law students are black, says John Simpkins, a professor at the Charleston School of Law, whose black student population is slightly higher than the average at a little more than 9 percent and has nearly doubled since 2004.

But that's still low and doesn't include other minorities, who are even less represented in the nation's law schools, Simpkins said.

In South Carolina, about 30 percent of the population is black, but black membership of the state's bar is just 10 percent.

To address this discrepancy, Simpkins and some of the students at the Charleston School of Law have organized the Office of Diversity Initiatives and energized its chapter of the National Black Law Students Association.

On Nov. 1, the association will honor Simpkins at its second black-tie dinner and announce the formation of the John Simpkins Scholarship Fund.

"The students (at the Charleston School of Law) get together to think of someone who's made a difference," said Angele Douglas, the 26-year-old student body president.

Proceeds collected from the dinner, which costs $50 a head, will help fund association programming and the new scholarship fund, Douglas said. The goal is to make $5,000 awards available to qualified students, she added. Other funding comes from sponsorships and miscellaneous fundraising efforts.

Last year, the group honored newly appointed S.C. Supreme Court Justice Donald Beatty.

To encourage minority students to consider a career in law, the association works hand in hand with the Office of Diversity Initiatives and Simpkins, its faculty adviser. The office recently acquired its first paid fellow, law school graduate Reagan Flemming.

Accustomed to public service (Flemming worked with AmeriCorps in Greenville and for the Governor's School of the Arts as a residential life adviser), she is focused on program development and recruitment, on "helping minority students understand the process of getting into law school."

On Oct. 4, Flemming and her colleagues hosted Law School Preview Day in partnership with the University of South Carolina and Charlotte School of Law. Sixty turned out to hear about school financing, the admissions process and careers in law.

The event is part of an ongoing outreach effort sponsored by the diversity office.

Simpkins said he has visited several historically black colleges, wooed Latino and Asian students and promoted a career in law at meetings and conferences. Student volunteers from the Charleston School of Law visit high schools and middle schools to interest young people in the field.

A big obstacle for minority students is cost. Law school is very expensive, Simpkins said, and Charleston School of Law students were not eligible for federally guaranteed loans until it received accreditation in December 2006.

The efforts are paying off. Minority enrollment at the school is up this year. The response from young students thinking about a career in law has been enthusiastic, Simpkins said.

"It becomes less of a mystery to them. It makes law school seem like less of a black box."

Reach Adam Parker at 937-5902 or aparker@postandcourier.com.

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