The Office of Admissions has designed several programs to recruit a diverse class:
Scholarship programs and partnerships
The Law School has established scholarship programs and partnerships with several HBCUs (e.g., Tuskegee University, Jacksonville State, and Kentucky State), with most women’s colleges (e.g., Barnard, Bryn Mawr, Cottey College, Mt. Holyoke, Smith, Wellesley, and Vassar), and with other liberal arts colleges and universities (e.g., Brooklyn College, Dartmouth, Grinnell College, Hope College, Princeton). The Law School is believed to be the only one in the nation with a scholarship program with the U.S. Army JAG Corps and the only one with the Asian Pacific Islander American Scholarship Fund.
Diverse Student Law Week
This annual event focuses on middle-school, high-school, and early-college diverse audiences. The program includes faculty, staff, current students, and alumni from the Law School. Panels on admissions, careers, and student life, as well as a mock law class, are offered to encourage students to think about a legal career.
Pipeline programs (iCLEO and SWEL)
The Law School has partnered with the Indiana Supreme Court to host, on a rotating basis with other Indiana law schools, the Indiana Conference for Legal Education Opportunity’s summer academy and scholarship program. The Law School also is a long-standing partner with Summer Work Experience in Law (SWEL), an Ohio-based eight week summer internship program for diverse college students.
Partnerships with IU–Bloomington diversity programs
The Law School has multiple scholarship programs and provides support (through presentations and guest lectures) with all the main Indiana University–Bloomington campus organizations and diversity organizations overseen by the Office of the Vice President for Diversity, Equity, and Multicultural Affairs, including Groups Scholars, Hutton Honors Scholars, and Hudson Holland Scholars. The Law School also is developing relationships with various social fraternities and sororities and other organizations on campus.
High school outreach
The Law School works with Legal Prep Charter Academy (Chicago’s only legal- themed high school) to provide programming and support. The Law School also is involved in annual high school group visits hosted by the Neil Marshall Black Cultural Center, including panel presentations and tours of the Law School. Other partnerships, including working with the Bloomington Boys and Girls Club (fifth to eighth grade visit), the Indiana University Bloomington Journal Institute for high school students, the IU Balfour Scholars Pre-College Academy, and the IU Kelley School MEET Program.
The Law School casts a wide net to recruit students from all over the nation, including:
Representation at Minority Conferences and Academies
Each year, the Law School participates in events including: (1) ICEO ASAP Northeast Region Law Fair; (2) Latino Justice Annual Law Day; (3) National HBCU Pre-Law Conference; (4) National Black and Hispanic Pre-Law Conference; and (5) St. John’s University Ron Brown Prep Academy.
Minority-designated colleges and universities
The Law School makes specific recruiting trips or hosts virtual presentations to a large number of undergraduate institutions, including HBCUs and HSIs such as Brooklyn College, Central State University, Fisk University, Howard University, Jackson State, Kentucky State, Spelman College, Tennessee State University, Tuskegee University, and University of Texas–El Paso.
During the pandemic, the Law School has hosted diversity-focused information session with affinity groups in “Zoomington” too.
