Doing Well and Doing Good: The Careers of Minority and White Graduates of the University of Michigan Law School

Of the more than 1,000 law students attending the University of Michigan Law School in the spring of 1965, only one was African American. The Law School faculty, in response, decided to develop a program to attract more African American students. One element of this program was the authorization of a deliberately race-conscious admissiosn process. By the mid-1970s, at least 25 African American students were represented in each graduating class. By the late 1970s, Latino and Native American students were included in the program as well. Over the nearly three decades between 1970 and 1998, the admissions efforts and goals have taken many forms, but, in all, about 800 African American, 350 Latino, 200 Asian American, and nearly 100 Native American students have graduated from the Law School