Law Hooding Shows Progress on Women, Diversity Issues From: University Currents Date: May 26, 2000 By: Carey Hoffman Phone: (513) 556-1825 Photo by: Lisa Ventre Archive: Campus News, General News Hooding ceremonies for the College of Law's Class of 2000 on May 20 brought to the forefront the progressive side of legal education in the college. Graduating that day were Laura Foster and Stacy Tucker, the first two graduates of the joint degree program between the Center for Women's Studies and the College of Law. The program is the first program of its kind in the nation. Also graduating were Patrick Mixon and Fadi Nahhas, a pair of students who early in their careers in the college helped found the Law Student Diversity Association. That group later received a 1999 Just Community Award from UC. The joint degree program allows students to earn both a law degree and a master's degree in women's studies in four years, instead of the five it would take to earn them separately. Graduates of the program will be well-prepared for careers in areas such as family law, human rights, sex-based discrimination and civil liberties. Barbara Watts, associate dean for the College of Law and a major proponent for the joint degree program, considers the graduation as a fulfillment of ideals that originated in the 1960s. "Who knows what we'll end up seeing these students do?," Watts says. "My hope is they will go out there and change the world. (This) appeals to the part of me that says we still have a long way to go before society accepts men and women as equals." The joint degree program is flourishing, with 10 more students currently enrolled in the College of Law. The program was just recognized by Ms. magazine in its April/May 2000 issue. The Law Student Diversity Association formed by Nahhas and Mixon works to ensure that graduates of the college are prepared to adequately represent clients from all backgrounds and participate fully in the increasingly diverse legal community.