Increasing the Diversity of the Law Teaching Profession
For more than 35 years, the University of Wisconsin's William H. Hastie Fellowship Program has provided an opportunity for lawyers of color to prepare for a career in law teaching. The Hastie Fellowship is customarily a two-year program, leading to an LL.M. degree. Candidates pursue a scholarly interest of their choice and are encouraged both to pursue publishable research for their thesis and to demonstrate a capacity to contribute as a scholar to legal studies.
William H. Hastie
The University of Wisconsin established the Hastie Fellowship in 1973. It honors William H. Hastie (1904-1976), a lawyer, teacher, jurist, and civil rights advocate who championed the importance of high-quality legal education. University of Wisconsin Law School Professor James E. Jones, Jr., now professor emeritus, well-known as a leading expert in labor law and as the architect of several significant programs aimed at achieving greater racial equality in the work force, was a moving force in creating this program.
The Program
The Hastie Fellowship Program encourages scholarship in the full range of law studies, including law as related to minorities. The strong Wisconsin tradition for studies of the law in action and for interdisciplinary work creates a particularly supportive atmosphere for those with these interests. Candidates are encouraged to take full advantage of long-established ties between the law faculty and faculty in other disciplines, and they will have easy access to the vast resources of the entire University.
Each Hastie fellow, before beginning work, establishes a relationship with a faculty member who will serve as the fellow's principal research advisor, guiding the fellow's research project. Additional faculty are likely to assist as well.
Highest priority is attached to the production of an LL.M. thesis that meets the requirements
of the Graduate Committee of the Law School. Most fellows base one or more articles on
the thesis. Ideally one article should be ready for submission prior to
completion of the program. The thesis work has proven of great value to
Hastie Fellows in demonstrating scholarly ability to prospective employers.
Another important aspect of the Hastie Fellowship Program is to help each fellow
develop strong teaching skills. Throughout the Fellowship, fellows are teamed with teachers covering subjects of interest to the fellow. This allows the fellow to observe and assist in teaching. Whenever possible, in the final semester of
the program, the Hastie fellow will have the opportunity to teach
a course or seminar in an area of interest to the fellow.
Fellows are encouraged to become involved in the life of the law school by
attending colloquia, faculty meetings, and social gatherings; engaging with
the many scholars and public officials who visit at the school each year; participating
in student-sponsored activities; and simply joining in the oftentimes rich exchanges
that occur over lunch or morning coffee. The Hastie fellow is treated more as
a junior colleague than as a graduate student.
Fellowship Term
The term and internal sequence of the Hastie program are designed to accommodate the need for intensive research and writing, participation in the hiring process of law schools, and gaining some teaching experience. Hastie fellows will be appointed for a term of usually two years. During the term of the appointment, fellows are required to be in residence in Madison and enrolled in the Law School, with a commitment to participating fully in the life of the law school.
Applications for the program are solicited in the fall of each year. (Application information is given below.)
The first year of the program is devoted primarily to work on the thesis. By the fall of the second year, it is expected that Hastie fellows will be sufficiently advanced in their research to enable them, as they seek law school faculty appointments, to submit their draft materials and make oral presentations based on their work. The final semester in residence focuses on providing, whenever possible, a teaching experience and finishing work on the thesis or publication derived from it.
Application Process
The goal of the Hastie Fellowship is to contribute to diversity in American law school teaching based on experience in and understanding of this country. For that reason, the Committee strongly prefers applicants who have substantial life experience in the United States and whose basic law degree is from an accredited American law school.
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To apply for the Hastie fellowship, an applicant should submit electronically:
- a completed Hastie Fellowship APPLICATION. The document may be filled in online and saved as a pdf or printed and scanned in as a pdf.
- If you are claiming Wisconsin residency please complete a
record
of residence form This form should be printed out and then scanned in and emailed with your application. The Record of Residence form does not need to be completed if you answered "No" to Question 16 on the application.
- a RESEARCH PROPOSAL--A brief summary of your proposed research project is a critical part of the application
process, but it need not be detailed (3-5 pages, double-spaced). Our experience is that it is helpful
to have a general indication of the applicant's interest so that we can involve
one or more members of the faculty who share this interest in the review process,
and be assured that the research will have the active interest and involvement
of a faculty member who will then serve as the Hastie fellow's advisor. The
specific focus of the research will most likely be altered or refined through
the initial collaboration of the fellow and his or her advisor. Submit as a pdf.
- a PERSONAL STATEMENT--a statement that tells us why you are interested in a Hastie Fellowship, and because the mission of the Hastie Program is to enhance the diversity of the law school professoriate, please explain how our selection of you would contributed to that mission (up to 2 double-spaced pages). Submit as a pdf.
- a current résumé, submitted as a pdf.
- three original LETTERS OF REFERENCE from persons who can, in detail, assess your past performance and your potential as both teacher
and scholar. The letters should be on letterhead and should
have a waiver
attached.
- OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPTS from all higher education institutions you attended (undergraduate, law school, and possible others, depending on your situation)
THE APPLICATION DEADLINE IS APRIL 15 to be considered for the next academic year. The application itself may be completed online and saved as a pdf. The Record of Residence form (if necessary), résumé, research proposal and personal statement should be emailed as pdf documents. If you are unable to send them as a scan or pdf, you may mail the original documents. Please email these documents to:
We must receive the original letters of reference (with waivers) and official transcripts (not scans or copies). These documents should be mailed to:
Hastie Fellowship
University of Wisconsin Law School
975 Bascom Mall, Room 4312
Madison, WI 53706-1399
The Hastie Committee reviews all completed applications as soon as possible
after the deadline date.
Remuneration and Support Services
The fellowship provides a stipend, currently at $25,000/year, which is increased from time to time to reflect the local cost of living, and a research support fund (currently $5,000). For more information about the stipend and research fund, please email hastiefellowship@law.wisc.edu. The fellow is responsible for paying the University's special fees each semester (currently around $539/semester); other tuition fees are waived as part of the fellowship. Complete fringe benefits are available for a modest cost and may include medical insurance, dental care, and major catastrophic and life insurance.
In addition to the stipend, the law school furnishes support services. Each fellow is provided a private office. A desktop computer and printer are provided, as are office supplies and photocopying.
For further information, contact Professor Thomas W. Mitchell at (608) 890-1237 or tmitchell@wisc.edu
Current Hastie Fellows
The Hastie Fellows for the 2012-2013 academic year are:
Lua Yuille
Cori Harvey
Program Graduates
Hastie fellows have served or are now serving on the faculties of law schools throughout the country. Among our graduates are:
Mario
Barnes
(2004)
Professor of Law
UC Irvine School of Law
Robin D. Barnes
(1991)
Professor of Law
University of Connecticut School of Law
Daniel O. Bernstine (1975)
[Former Dean of the University of Wisconsin Law School]
President and CEO
Law School Admissions Council
Pamela
Bridgewater
(2000)
Professor of Law
American University, Washington College of Law
Laura A. Cisneros (2008)
Associate Professor of Law
Golden Gate University School of Law
Kimberle
Williams Crenshaw (1985)
Professor of Law
Columbia and UCLA Law School
Ruben
Garcia (2002)
Associate Professor of Law
California Western School of Law
Michele
Goodwin (2000)
Professor of Law
University of Minnesota Law School
Michael Green
(1999)
Professor of Law and Associate Dean
Texas Wesleyan School of Law
Donald
Harris (2003)
Associate Professor of Law
Temple University Beasley School of Law
Osamudia James (2008)
Associate Professor of Law
University of Miami School of Law
Del Laverdure
(1999)
Deputy Assistant Secretary
U.S. Department of the Interior
Stacy L. Leeds
(2000)
Dean
University of Arkansas School of Law
Ruth Hokulei
Lindsey
(2006)
Assistant Professor of Law
Southern Illinois University School of Law
Thomas
W. Mitchell (1999)
Professor of Law
University of Wisconsin Law School
Richard A. Monette (1997)
Professor of Law
University of Wisconsin Law School
Adele
Morrison (2003)
Associate Professor of Law
Wayne State University Law School
Michael Oeser (2010)
Associate Professor
Atlanta's John Marshall Law School
Victoria
Palacios (1976)
Associate Professor of Law
Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law
Stephanie
L. Phillips (1988)
Professor of Law
University at Buffalo Law School
The State University of New York
D. Daniel Sokol
(2007)
Assistant Professor of Law
University of Florida Levin College of Law
Donald Tibbs
(2007)
Associate Professor
Earle Mack School of Law at Drexel University
Winnie
F. Taylor (1979)
Professor of Law
Brooklyn Law School
