ALUMNI DEANS SHARE COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION BY ERIKA HARTINGS
For over a century, graduates of American University Washington College of Law (AUWCL) have pursued justice and worked for positive change in both the legal profession and higher education. When Dean Roger A. Fairfax Jr. was appointed in
2021, he outlined five objectives, among them: advancing AUWCL’s impact and reputation, championing diversity and community, and providing a world-class student and alumni experience. These strategic priorities are shared by three AUWCL alumni who are currently law school deans.
Anthony W. Crowell ’97 has served as dean and president of New York Law School (NYLS) since 2012. “We ensure our students not only reflect the rich diversity of New York City but also benefit from its extraordinary opportunities,” he said. At AUWCL, Crowell was a first-
generation student who worked full-time while attending evening classes, taking on tenant organizing and homeownership issues with the Community and Economic Development Law Clinic, and studying environmental law and sustainability abroad. At NYLS, he has built a strong evening program,
created a pan-institutional Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and established The Joe Plumeri Center for Social Justice and Economic Opportunity, which houses a vast clinical and experiential learning program and one of the nation’s leading housing justice programs.
“AUWCL continues to be a model for clinical legal education,” said Marisa Cianciarulo ’98, who served in an interim role as the first female dean of the Dale E. Fowler School of Law at Chapman University. “I benefitted from that, and I am proud to be associated as I champion a collaborative approach to learning,
leadership, and social change.” Partnering with internal and external offices, she established two new clinics in criminal prosecution and criminal defense. Cianciarulo became dean of Western State College of Law in July. Her focus is on rebuilding alumni relations
and promoting the new immigration center. “Education is key to changing hearts and minds about immigration,” said Cianciarulo, who tried her first case with AUWCL’s International Human Rights Clinic. “Typically, immigration laws, rhetoric, and enforcement reflect ignorance. When we approach the issue humanely, accounting for economic and political forces, then we will see positive change.”
“Removing barriers to a legal education is my focus,” said Rose Cuison-Villazor ’00, interim co-dean of Rutgers Law School. “As a first-generation student myself, it is important to me to make law school inclusive, accessible, and affordable to historically underrepresented groups, including
women, people of color, people with disabilities, poor, and those with unstable immigration status, among others.” Cuison-Villazor credits AUWCL for laying the strong
foundation for the kind of leader she aspires to be. “I felt supported by my professors, who later encouraged my teaching career and leadership positions,” she said. Cuison-Villazor is now on a yearlong sabbatical since
stepping down from the deanship in July. When she rejoins the faculty next year, she will return to teaching and directing Rutgers’ Center for Immigration Law, Policy, and Social Justice, which she founded five years ago. “Most of my research and policy work explores the meaning of ‘sanctuary’ for immigrants. I am analyzing ways that the federal, state and local governments could have a more collaborative relationship with respect to the regulation of immigration law and policy.” Demonstrating a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, these alumni deans are fostering law school programs focused on the challenges of a changing world and preparing students and alumni to be service-oriented lawyers, scholars, and advocates. “I had a lot of opportunities and access to great
faculty and programs at AUWCL,” Crowell concluded. “We share a deep and solemn obligation to serve historically marginalized communities by training courageous lawyers who look like them, understand their concerns, and are zealous advocates.”
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