All programs are in the Faculty Club, D'Agostino
Hall, 110 W. 3rd Street
1:00 p.m. Registration
2:00 p.m. Welcome -
Assistant Dean for Student Life Yvette Bravo-Weber, New York
University School of Law
2:15-3:30 p.m. Guests in Our Family's House -- Who Are They?
Professor Marjorie Silver, Touro Law Center
Professor Cecil J. Hunt II, Touro Law Center
Most students of color feel like strangers when
they enter law school -- it is a foreign culture to them. Unlike
many majority students, they do not come from a professional culture.
But there are minority students who are familiar with that culture,
and many white students who are not. How do we decide who we
wish to include, and who we will exclude? Presenters will lead
a discussion of over inclusion and under inclusion in academic
support programs.
3:30-4:00 p.m. Break
4:00-5:15 p.m. What We Do and Why We Do It: Educational Models and Their Role in a Law School Academic Support Program
Marcia Sells, Dean of Students, Columbia Law School
Mark Graham, Academic Support Specialist, Columbia
Law School
The presentation will focus first on the question,
"Who are we educating, who should we assist?" The roles
of academic support professionals and the environment in which
they work will be examined. Next, presenters will seek to define
who ASP audiences are -- by demographics and entry skills. Then,
an educational model for law school academic support programs
will be introduced.
6:30 p.m. Dinner -
Keynote Speaker: Randolph Scott McLaughlin, Professor, Pace
University School of Law and Vice President, Center for Constitutional
Rights: Affirmative Action and Academic Support: Past, Present
and Future
All morning programs are in the
Faculty Club, D'Agostino Hall
9:15-10:00 a.m. Introduction/Recap of Friday Sessions
Kristine Knaplund, University of California-Los
Angeles, Chair, LSAC Subcommittee on Academic Support Programs
10:00-10:15 a.m. Break
10:15- 11:15 a.m. The Marriage of Enrichment and Support Through The Use of Diagnostic Writing Tools
Professor Robert Ward, New England School of Law
Professor Eileen Mills, New England School of Law
Presenters will demonstrate a multi-purpose diagnostic
writing tool. The exercise, based on Richard Wright's short story,
"Almost A Man," is intended to identify first year students
who may experience academic difficulty, provide opportunities
for the discussion of diversity, break the ice between first year
faculty and students, and afford students an introduction to law
school essay examinations.
11:15 - 11:30 a.m. Break
11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. The Best Defense: Protecting Your Program in an Era of Budget Cuts and Anti-Affirmative Action Sentiment
Professor Kristine Knaplund, University of California-Los Angeles School of Law
A "how-to" guide on evaluating your program
to produce reliable results, win friends and influence faculty
members.
12:30-1:45 p.m. Lunch - Snow Dining Room, 4th
Floor, Vanderbilt Hall, Washington Square South
Kent Lollis, Director of Minority Affairs, Law School
Admissions Council
2:00-3:00 p.m. Breakout
Sessions - Vanderbilt Hall
The Final Frontier: Supplemental Bar Review Assistance for Academic Support Students - Room 311
Professor Angela Passalacqua, Rutgers University School of Law -- Camden
Professor Kevin Hopkins, Widener School of Law -- Harrisburg
Professor Teresa Wallace, Widener School of Law
-- Wilmington
This program is intended to help academic support
professionals decide whether and how to offer bar exam help as
part of their program. Topics include: predicting which students
are at risk; counseling students on course selection; and options
for helping graduates. This program will be of particular interest
to professionals in established programs who are seeking ways
to improve their school's or their diversity students' bar pass
rates.
Pedagogical Tools for Different Learning Styles - Room 312
Professor Laurie Morin, Northeastern School of Law
This presentation will demonstrate five pedagogical
strategies that law teachers can easily incorporate into their
classes to make them more accessible to students with learning
difficulties (ranging from diagnosed learning disabilities to
academic deficits to differences in preferred learning styles).
Topics covered will include strategies for providing framework
and structure; using multi-sensory approaches; providing graphic
organizers to help students synthesize large bodies of information;
suggesting memory strategies; and providing alternative methods
of processing information and demonstrating knowledge. This session
will be valuable to teachers of substantive law courses, as well
as ASP/disability professionals who are interested in training
colleagues to provide a more supportive classroom environment
for all students.
Starting Up Is Not Hard To Do A Beginner's Guide To Academic Support - Room 313
Professor Leslie Garfield, Pace University School of Law
Professor Kathryn Mercer, Case Western Reserve School
of Law
This session is directed at professionals who are
considering starting an academic support program or substantially
revising an existing program. Subjects covered will include the
theoretical justifications for academic support programs; a review
of recent scholarly literature on academic support programs; choices
of type of program; views on winning faculty and administration
support; program design, implementation and review; and anticipating
and addressing backlash issues.
3:00-3:15 p.m. Break
3:15-4:15 p.m. Breakout
Sessions Repeat, same Rooms
4:15-5:00 p.m. Wrap
Up - Athornia Steele, Capital University Law School -
Room 208