Category: Announcements

by Allison Gorsuch ’15

Every year, Yale Law Women nominate faculty and staff members who have gone above and beyond in their contributions to student life here at Yale Law School. From these nominations, the student body votes a winner for both the Yale Law Women Faculty Excellence Award and the Yale Law Women Staff Excellence Award.   Both nominated and winning faculty members receive accolades for engaging classroom discussion, supporting students in and out of the classroom, and for using the YLW Speak Up! guidelines to encourage equitable classroom participation. Nominated and winning staff members often receive recognition for their indispensible wisdom, tireless support of various student activities, and simply being a friendly, positive force in the law school halls.

This year was no different. Professor Roberta Romano won the Faculty Excellence Award for her engaging classroom teaching and exuberant support of students interested in corporate law. In an unprecedented move, The Entire Law Library Staff won the Staff Excellence Award in recognition of their unparalleled communal work this year to engage students in the life of the law library, from starting the student library advisory council to offering homemade baked goods during exams.

In addition, the Yale Law Women Executive Board awarded the third YLW Leadership Award to Adrien Weibgen, class of 2014. With this award, YLW honored Adrien’s contributions to furthering the mission of YLW like welcoming 1Ls with a diversity training, circulating a compiled guide of tips called “Yale Law Secrets” to the student body, and promoting healthy dialogue about race, gender, class, and other important issues at the law school.

We couldn’t be prouder to honor our winners this year for their dedication to improving student life here at YLS through great teaching, crucial support, and dedicated advocacy to equality. Keep an eye out next year to catch a faculty member or staff member going above and beyond – and maybe it will be their name in the winning envelope!

Nearly a century after being given the franchise, women make up only 20% of the Senate and 18.2% of the House. These disparities are troubling, but they don’t have to persist. Last year, Yale Law Women launched an effort to inspire and support more women students at YLS to consider careers in politics. We created a speaker series, called Women in Politics, to offer women students insight into the challenges and rewards of a political career, to provide practical advice, and to draw the attention of all students to the underrepresentation of women in politics and the valuable perspectives that female elected officials bring to our nation’s public policy.

Yet we want to do more than just introduce current students to women alumnae. We want to connect them with opportunities to develop the knowledge and skills to run for office and advance their careers in public service. And so, Yale Law Women, in partnership with the Yale Law School Development Office, is seeking to raise $10,000 to send YLS students to the Women’s Campaign School at Yale. The Women’s Campaign School is a non-partisan political campaign-training program. Over five intense and immersive days, women learn about campaign structure, polling, fundraising, media relations, crisis communication, ethics, and grassroots volunteer management, among other topics. The experience culminates in a mock campaign presentation. You can read more about WCS at http://www.wcsyale.org/.

Jessica Samuels, a current 2L and Chair of the Yale Law Women Board, attended the Women’s Campaign School last summer, and had this to say: “The experience was transformative. It inspired me to consider running, and provided practical information about how to set up and execute a successful campaign. WCS also connected me to a network of women with similar aspirations. This is truly a unique opportunity to encourage and equip women to run for (and win!) elected office.”

We would love for you to join us in making this very special opportunity possible for YLS women students. Should you wish to contribute, click here. Please mark the gift designation as “Unrestricted,” and enter “For Yale Law Women/Women’s Campaign School” in the comments box.

If you have any questions about the logistics of giving, please contact Eric Stoddard, Director of the Yale Law School Fund, at eric.stoddard@yale.edu or (203) 432-6082.