Hello supporters! Great news. UIC John Marshall Law School has formed a committee to rename the school. Below is an excerpt of an email from Dean Dickerson. This is a HUGE step forward!
More to come.
Hanna Kassis
Dickerson, Darby <email omitted for privacy concerns>
Mon, Aug 3, 2020 at 6:27 AM
To: "Dickerson, Darby" <email omitted for privacy concerns>
Subject line: Announcing a Task Force to Consider Renaming the Law School and the Law School Antiracism Coordinating Committee
Good morning,
After listening to input from the Law School community, I am appointing a new task force and a new committee to further our work to become an antiracist Law School. The details about each appear below. I hope you all will work with these two groups to help us continue to evolve and grow. In the near future, I will be providing additional updates and details about other antiracism programs and initiatives. Thank you for reading about these important matters.
Task Force to Consider Renaming the Law School
Background: UIC Law’s official name is UIC John Marshall Law School. That name, until August 2025, is controlled by a Premises Covenant in the Asset Transfer Agreement between the University of Illinois Board of Trustees and The John Marshall Law School. In addition, another Premises Covenant requires UIC to refer to the Law School campus as the John Marshall campus until August 2025.
The Law School’s name traces to its founding, in 1899, as The John Marshall Law School. John Marshall was the fourth Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court; he also served as Secretary of State and as a member of the House of Representatives. John Marshall owned and traded slaves. He also wrote opinions that address slavery and indigenous sovereignty.
Some alumni, students, and faculty have called for the name John Marshall to be removed from the Law School’s official name as expeditiously as possible and before the Premises Covenants expire. Dean Darby Dickerson has appointed and charged a Task Force to make findings and a recommendation about the Law School name.
If the Task Force recommends a name change, she will provide that recommendation to UIC’s Chancellor. The Chancellor will make a recommendation to the University of Illinois President and Board of Trustees. Dean Dickerson also will provide the Task Force’s findings and recommendation to the Law School Legacy Corporation f/k/a The John Marshall Law School so that its board can consider whether to waive the two Premises Covenants that require use of the John Marshall name until August 2025.
Charge: To develop findings and a recommendation about whether “John Marshall” should be removed from the Law School’s name. In so doing:
Gather input from our law students, faculty, staff, and alumni regarding the Law School’s name; Conduct research regarding C.J. John Marshall’s personal and professional history regarding slavery, indigenous Americans, and related matters; Conduct research regarding why the Law School was named for C.J. John Marshall.
If the Task Force recommends removing the John Marshall name, propose the principles that should be recommended to the Law School Legacy Corporation when evaluating whether to release the University of Illinois from the Premises Covenants related to the John Marshall name and that the University of Illinois Board of Trustees use when evaluating whether to accelerate removal of John Marshall from the Law School’s name.
Timeline: The Task Force’s work will begin immediately. The Task Force plans to complete its work in or before January 2021.
Task Force Members:
- Associate Dean Samuel V. Jones, Co-Chair
- Mr. John Richards Lee, '73, Co-Chair
- Ms. Cashmere Cozart, 2L
- Ms. Brandy Johnson, 2L
- Mr. Hanna Kassis '14
- Mr. Michael Huggins, Executive Director of Marketing & Communications
- Professor Samuel Olken
Research Liaison: Anne Abramson, Law Library Instructor
<portion of email regarding antiracism committee omitted>
Darby Dickerson
(Title and Pronouns: Dean/she/her/hers)
Dean and Professor of Law
UIC John Marshall Law School
The University of Illinois at Chicago
300 S. State Street Chicago, IL 60604