Cordel Faulk ‘01
Departing Chief Admissions Officer
In 1996, A.E. Dick Howard became the first graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law I ever met. I seriously wish everyone such a magnificent introduction to the Virginia Law community. There I was—some silly little 20-year-old, closeted black kid who ran up to him after a speech because I wanted to meet the man who wrote the Virginia Constitution. He was the most courtly, urbane, brilliant human being I’d ever been within five feet of. He then put up with months of me staying in touch while I was an undergrad. When I finally submitted my application to UVA Law for the Class of 2001, he was nice enough to write a letter to endorse my candidacy—even though that might mean decades more of me demanding that he mentor me. In the years since, he has been a needed ear, a friend, and a reminder of the type of person I should aspire to be.
Through that lens, I hope every student who reads this understands why I attacked my job in the Admissions Office the way I did. For no extrinsic reason whatsoever, Dick Howard treats me like a human being deserving of care, support, concern, and love. Every day I walked into the Admissions Office it was my greatest desire to do the same for the students who choose to join the Virginia Law community.
Pictured: Cordel Faulk ‘01, Chief Admissions Officer
Photo Courtesy: law.virginia.edu
I love this Law School. I do, because I love the types of people who feel compelled to call it home—despite having the opportunity to get a legal education just about anywhere else. My fellow alumni (and future alumni) have built a community not based on elitism or prestige or bravado. No, you have not. You have built a community based on values—foremost among those is that we value each other first. The tie that binds is an acknowledgement of the humanity that animates our interactions with one another.
Promissory estoppel is taught at every law school; a law student can get that anywhere. You don’t get the Virginia Law community everywhere.
To the classes that were here before me: Thank you so much for creating a place where these wonderful people can come together, and thank you (specifically Dick Howard and Al Turnbull) for welcoming me into your ranks. For those who have come after: Thank you for letting me be a part of your story and thank you for being a part of mine. Every time I think about “my classes” I smile, and think about two things: (1) all the lessons I have learned because I got to interact with you and (2) the amazing things you will do once you leave these halls.
I won’t name any names of particular students because there are too many to put in this space. I love you all, though. Every application became a part of me I’ll never lose.
The year 2020 is the 100th anniversary of the first women to come to the University of Virginia School of Law as students. This year is also the 50th anniversary of the first black women joining the ranks of UVA Law graduates. It’s the 200th anniversary of the University itself.
Think of everything we lost by not educating women during UVA’s first hundred years. Think of the shame we accumulated during the 150 years our forebearers refused to have black women in our ranks. If we think hard, it should be obvious that this absence wasn’t just damaging to the women who were stopped at the gates. That period without women in our community was a violence against civil society itself. All the law and logic and reason those women could have given us was lost. That harmed everyone, and we’re still trying to catch up from those times today. Why did that happen? We lost generations of progress because of misogyny, fear, and ignorance. Let’s take this fancy elite education and make sure nothing like that ever happens again.
When we see Muslims being mistreated at airports, we should stand up and say, “Hell no!” When we see laws making it difficult for black Americans to go to the polls, we should stand up and say, “Hell no!” When we see society dismissing the contributions and potential of women, we should stand up and say, “Hell no!” When we see legislatures attacking the basic American freedoms guaranteed in the Bill of Rights, we should stand up and say, “Hell no!” When we don’t, we are wasting the privilege this degree affords us.
Every day you leave your house, you should be planning what you will do to deserve a degree from the University of Virginia School of Law.
As I end my employment at UVA Law, I’d like to thank a few people who made all of this possible. Dean Jeffries: Thank you for your friendship, your willingness to correct me frankly, and for making me feel valued and respected. Dean Mahoney: Thank you for your trust in giving me this job and for being the type of person whose judgment I could trust implicitly. To George Geis and Leslie Kendrick: Thank you for showing me that intelligence, strength, compassion, and commonsense could work in concert with one another. To Stephen Parr: Thank you for preparing me to be a leader. You all made me better and I am grateful.
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cfaulk@law.virginia.edu