Amy Pan ‘22
Lifestyle Editor
On Wednesday, February 12, the Black Law Students Association (BLSA) hosted “The Importance of Diversity in the Academy” as part of its annual Black History Month programming. The panel was moderated by Eli Jones ’21, BLSA’s Social Action Chair, and featured Professors Alex Johnson and Timothy Lovelace ’06, who spoke on their experiences as professors of color in legal academia. Professor Johnson, who joined the Law School faculty in 1984, teaches Property, Modern Real Estate, Contracts, and Trusts and Estates. Professor Lovelace, who is visiting this year from the University of Indiana School of Law, teaches Critical Race Theory and has previously served as the director of UVA’s Center for the Study of Race and Law. The event spanned a wide range of topics, including each professor’s academic background and path to scholarship, the impact of diversity on various fields of legal study, and advice for diverse students who hope to pursue a career in legal academia.
The panel opened by asking Professors Johnson and Lovelace about their respective routes into legal academia and their reasons for transitioning into the profession. Professor Lovelace spoke about his non-traditional path into the legal academy. Both of his parents were involved in civil rights activism, and he initially planned to pursue a public service career. Nonetheless, as many of his peers were applying to major law firms, Professor Lovelace followed suit and went on to work in private practice during his first and second summers. Though the experience as a positive one, Professor Lovelace still felt a pull towards his passion for social justice. That’s not to say that working at the firm was without its perks—while Professor Lovelace would often stay late on the job, he would use this time to print law review articles on race, law, and history, which he would read for pleasure. This cemented his interest in academia, and, at the end of the summer, Professor Lovelace made the choice to turn down his firm offer and enroll in UVA’s PhD program for history. Professor Lovelace remembers how many of his friends thought he was crazy for giving up a firm salary in favor of remaining a grad student, but he knew he made the right choice.
Like Professor Lovelace, Professor Johnson’s route to the legal academy was also a non-linear one. When Professor Johnson graduated from UCLA Law School in 1978, his Dean had encouraged him to pursue a career in academia, but initially, Professor Johnson wasn’t interested—he wanted to “make a lot of money” and set his sights on becoming a partner at a law firm. After spending two years at Latham & Watkins, Professor Johnson eventually accepted a position to teach at the University of Minnesota Law School, originally planning to stay for just one year before returning to Latham. But he found it impossible to go back to being a junior associate[1] after experiencing the freedom and autonomy of working as a professor. At the time, there were only a handful of black legal scholars teaching around the country, but Professor Johnson loved it. Compared to private practice, “being a professor was much more interesting and challenging, and the lifestyle was better.” Professor Johnson admitted that most of his class at Latham is now retired—and “filthy rich”—but he wouldn’t change his academic career for the world. “Teaching really has been a great profession for me,” he said, “and I have never regretted it, ever.”
Each professor was then asked about the diversity in their respective fields—and why diverse points of view are important in their areas and in legal scholarship generally. Professor Lovelace began by sharing how the field of legal history lacks diversity for a number of reasons. First, the ability to obtain a PhD is critical for most legal historians, but the extra years of schooling and forsaking an income is a major economic burden. Mentorship is also an issue within the profession. Professor Lovelace explained that for a student to become an academic, typically, another professor has to take initiative, identify talent, and personally encourage that student to pursue teaching. Moreover, for a PhD, a young scholar needs an advisor, and as person of color or as a woman, it can be difficult to find someone to trust. As for why diversity is important in the field of civil rights, Professor Lovelace explained the major methodological changes that have taken shape in recent years. Instead of the traditional top-down perspective, many scholars are now acknowledging that constitutional change comes from the bottom up. Everyday people—who never went to law school—are helping create a new context for legal, social, and political change. Without a diverse set of viewpoints, the field would not have experienced this sort of major methodological reform.
Professor Johnson echoed Professor Lovelace’s sentiments when he shared how the transactional side also lacks diversity. When Professor Johnson started teaching at the Law School in 1984, he was the only African American professor; Professor Mildred Robinson came to visit the following year and joined shortly after, but they were the only two for over a decade. Professor Johnson has since recruited several more—including Professor Kim Forde-Mazrui—but the number at UVA Law is still low, especially for a top law school. Professor Johnson explained how barriers to entry are relatively high, reiterating Professor Lovelace’s point on the difficulty of obtaining a PhD. Unlike in the past, a great majority of entering law professors hold both a JD and a PhD, making a doctorate degree all but a requirement for legal scholarship.
Professor Johnson quipped that he loves just about everything except grading exams. But in all seriousness, Professor Johnson enjoys the challenge of teaching, of seeing the lightbulb go off in students’ heads after a difficult concept like the Rule of Perpetuities.[2] He described teaching as a far more interesting challenge than practice—instead of specializing in one thing and doing it over and over, professors can use their imagination in their writing and teaching. Professor Johnson highlighted the concept of academic freedom and staying passionate and enthusiastic. “I currently have three articles in the pipeline right now, and they excite me,” he told the audience. “I look forward to the time over the summer when I can work on the articles. And then, over the summer, when I’m done working on the articles, I get excited about being back in the classroom and meeting new people.”
Finally, both professors offered some advice to encourage more diverse students to enter into the academy. Professor Lovelace reminded the audience to prioritize grades and develop strong relationships with professors, who will eventually serve as recommenders. He encouraged students to pursue writing experiences—including law review notes and seminar papers—as a way to develop one’s research and scholarly voice. Conducting an independent study with faculty members or completing a clerkship can serve as additional qualifications. But most importantly, Professor Lovelace emphasized the importance of just having passion in and of itself. “You have to be a self-starter,” he reminded the audience. “Is this something that you feel called to do? Because there are going to be long nights and early mornings when you’re by yourself with a stack of books, just trying to get an answer to a particular question. The only thing that will carry you through those times is that passion, that calling.”
In contrast, Professor Johnson jokingly pointed to his own route as an example of what students should not do.[3] Professor Johnson reminded students that, even if they are reluctant to pursue a PhD, there are still opportunities available for diverse scholarship. In the legal academy, schools are looking for diverse professors to populate their classrooms and faculty—especially within the transactional fields. While areas of public law might be more competitive, diverse candidates who are interested in studying Property or Trusts and Estates will have a “good shot.”
In closing, both Professor Johnson and Professor Lovelace encouraged passionate law students to pursue academic careers, even though it may be intimidating in a field that still has much room to grow in terms of diversity. Despite that, Professor Johnson described academia—especially at UVA Law—as one of the most welcoming and constructive workplaces he has ever experienced. Professor Johnson pointed to Professor Lovelace as an example; Professor Lovelace gave a speech in November that inspired Professor Johnson to start an article about Shelly v. Kramer and its significance in all four classes that he teaches.
BLSA’s panel with Professors Lovelace and Johnson provided invaluable commentary and advice from two of the most influential professors of color in the legal academy. The event highlighted the importance of thinking critically about diversity, and many students—including BLSA 1L Chair Allison Burns ’22—expressed admiration for all that both professors have accomplished. Jones, who moderated the event, underscored the importance of this event by adding that “Across academia generally, but even more so in the legal academy, there is a serious lack of diversity to be seen, and that can manifest itself in classrooms and scholarly journals in a variety of ways. Year round, but especially during Black History Month, I think we should really reflect on the massive benefits we can all reap from increased diversity in many places in society.”
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ap8axh@virginia.edu
