A CLOSER LOOK: Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Affinity Relations
Q&A with Lisa Sonia Taylor, Assistant Dean of Diversity, Inclusion and Affinity Relations
Editor's Note: This issue of The Advocate was written, edited, and produced before the onset of the global coronavirus pandemic. Please see Assistant Dean Lisa Sonia Taylor's message about helping students, staff, and faculty focus on maintaining equity and inclusion while responding to the pandemic here.
Twenty-five years ago, American University Washington College of Law’s Office of Diversity Services was created to work across the AUWCL community to promote the participation and success of historically marginalized groups. Last year, Dean Camille Nelson elevated the position of Director of Diversity Services to Assistant Dean of Diversity, Inclusion and Affinity Relations—appointing Lisa Sonia Taylor to the position in August 2019.
Taylor previously served as managing director of the Thurgood Marshall Civil Rights Center at Howard University School of Law, where she spearheaded the creation of the student organizing collaborative and developed relationships with foundations and civil society organizations. Taylor has held key leadership positions at Saint Louis University School of Law, Florida A&M College of Law, and Ohio Northern University College of Law. She completed her JD at Howard University School of Law and is in the process of completing a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Higher Education Administration.
We sat down with Taylor to ask how the Office of Diversity, Inclusion, and Affinity Relations is facilitating an inclusive space for legal practice and is shaping the next generation of diverse and talented lawyers.
Q: Why is it important for a law school to have an office that addresses issues of diversity and inclusion?
Promoting diversity and inclusive practices is an integral part of legal training. Lawyers play an important role within our society, and we have to make sure that we provide competent and culturally sensitive representation to the people we serve, the people we lead, and the people for whom we advocate. The way we do this is by making sure that there are diverse voices in the room by improving access to legal education, valuing and respecting differences, and providing appropriate support.
Q: What changes have come to the office, with its new name and thee creation of your role as assistant dean of diversity, inclusion and affinity relations?
This office and its services have been reimagined. Everything I do is with an eye toward better serving our students, and in my first year, I’ve been working on a strategic plan to identify the best way to do that at our law school. I have been building relationships with other administrative offices and meeting with various affinity groups and student organizations get a better idea of their goals and objectives. I have also met with different AUWCL centers and programs to discuss how they can implement more inclusive practices into their own strategic plans.
I have also spent some time counseling students one-on-one. If students feel that my office can be of service to them personally or academically, I can be there for them. In that role, I see myself as an advocate.
Q: Inclusive excellence is an imperative part of American University's five-year plan, "Change Makers for a Changing World." What role does the office play in attracting and admitting diverse students?
I’m very interested in how we target and recruit students. I have an admissions background and did a lot of traveling last year to recruitment events. Looking forward, I’m exploring ways to strengthen our diversity initiatives and create meaningful pipeline programs with an eye toward assisting students through high school, college, and on to law school.
Meanwhile, I’m assessing what programs we do have and where we are already doing this outreach. I am honored to be directing the AUWCL Marshall-Brennan Project that promotes constitutional literacy and civic engagement among high school students in the District of Columbia. There is potential for Marshall-Brennan to be the foundation of a true pipeline program. If it is possible for us to build a program where we continue to support our Marshall-Brennan high school students, I think it would be amazing.
Q: How have the needs or concerns of underrepresented students in higher education changed over the past decade? How is the office working to address those needs?
I think in the past many students felt that they needed to check their diverse identities at the door and assume a professional law school identity. It is like a Venn diagram with no overlap.
Today, students realize the strength of bringing those two identities together. They’re bringing their diversity with them, they’re proud of it, they want to talk about, and they think it’s valuable. Students are much more vocal about demanding respect and an inclusive learning environment.
I think even students who don’t traditionally identify as diverse also understand that they have a lot to learn from being in a diverse space and are now asking for inclusive practices and policies. I think it is incumbent on us to sponsor an environment where students can explore the intersection of law and identity and use both to move ahead.
Q: What role do alumni play in advancing the efforts of your office? What is it important for students to have alumni mentors of a similar background?
Through my work on the strategic plan, one of my goals is to determine how best to define affinity relations. I definitely think a major part of this is facilitating outreach to alumni and bar associations. Right now, I am working on a newsletter, which will be a good vehicle for alumni, employers, and bar associations to promote diverse initiatives and opportunities to our students.
Any opportunity to build a mentoring relationship is valuable, but having someone who can identify with where you come from and the path you’ve taken is a bonus. Diverse students sometimes report that law schools can be isolating. Anytime we can let diverse students know that not only is law school for you, but that we actually need you here, it is a positive. One way we do that is connecting students with successful lawyers who took similar paths. We can’t underestimate the value in that.
To learn how you can get involved with the Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Affinity Relations, email diversity@wcl.american.edu.