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In the November 2012 issue of National Jurist, FIU’s College of Law was recognized as the third most diverse law school in the United States, with a final score of 8.1 – a score well above the median of 4.83.
To determine the most diverse ABA-accredited law schools, the magazine broke down each school into six categories: percentage of minority faculty; percentage of black students; percentage of Asian and Hawaiian students; percentage of Hispanic students; percentage of American Indian students and other minorities; and percentage of Caucasian students.
Each category was then assigned a score from one to 10. A school that matched the U.S. national average for any race received a seven, and a school that was 30 percent or higher than the average received a 10. Editors noted that the final outcome of the study is a listing of schools “that have a breadth of races both in student bodies and faculty.”
FIU Law students in action
left to right are: Nicholas Greene (3L), Mia (Maria) Olis JD ’12, Aleksandra Sikorska JD ’12, and Stephanie Nunez ’09, JD ’12
Of the law schools ranked in the honor roll for diversity, FIU Law boasts the highest percentage of Hispanic students (39%), as well as the highest faculty diversity score (10.0).
“This diversity does not happen by accident,” said Dean R. Alexander Acosta. “We are part of a university that embraces diversity in its many forms. We understand the positive impact a diverse environment can have not only on minority students, but on the student body as a whole.
“We remain committed to this founding principle, and through first-generation scholarships, we will work to ensure that all our students have access to opportunities.”
Our most impactful research:
Last checked, FIU is 59% Hispanic. Caucasian, 17%. African American,12%. Asian, 4%. Native American, 1%.
Is this what FIU calls diversity?
Of course it does. “Hispanic” is an ethnicity and not a race. Hispanics are people of Spanish culture regardless of race. Therefore such statistics are misleading. Secondly, there are 21 Spanish speaking countries. If you believe diversity constitutes only one’s language then you do not know the definition of the word.
Dean Acosta:
Very proud of your work
What does it matter how diverse FIU Law is when most of these graduates will not have good paying jobs as lawyers?! I think the school and the ABA should care more about getting most of these grads good paying legal jobs rather than focusing on superficial things such as diversity.