UIC Law has welcomed its 2021 entering class with 318 JD students, up from 316 JD students last year.
This is the first fall class to start under Interim Dean Julie Spanbauer, whose appointment as Dean became effective June 1. Dean Spanbauer, who served as Vice Dean of the Law School from 2017-2021, assumes leadership following Darby Dickerson’s departure at the end of May to Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles. Previous to her Vice Dean appointment, Spanbauer, a member of the law faculty for more than 30 years, served as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs from 2015–2017 and as Director of Faculty Affairs from 2014–2015.
UIC Law’s new students continue to reflect the Law School’s longstanding mission of access and opportunity. More than half of the new JD class – 59 percent – are women and 35 percent identify as racially/ethnically diverse.
UIC Law’s community is made up of more than 40 student organizations that represent the diverse interests and pursuits of the student body. These organizations include the Women’s Law Caucus, Asian Pacific American Law Students Association, Black Law Students Association, Latino Law Students Association and Middle Eastern Law Students Association.
Founded in 1899, the Law School was a pioneer in opening its doors and admitting minorities, women and immigrants. The Law School graduated its first female student, Jessie Cook, in 1903; its first African-American student, James Randle, in 1904; and its first Hispanic student, William E. Rodriguez, in 1912. Today, with more than 35 percent of the student body at UIC Law composed of minority students, the student body is one of the most diversified in the nation, according to preLaw magazine.
