Faculty recruitment conference in Washington D.C.

I traveled to Washington D.C. to attend the Faculty Recruitment Conference and recruit new faculty for UC Davis School of Law.  Before the interviews, I caught up with our alum Eduardo Diaz ‘76, who works at the Smithsonian, who took me to the National Museum of African American History and Culture.  Gary Solis ‘71 and his wife Andrea, who live in the area, joined us for a tour.  As it turned out, both Eduardo and Gary graduated from San Diego State before going to UC Davis School of Law.  Professor Luis Fuentes-Rohwer and his wife Cathy also joined us for the tour. 

Eduardo led us through the history exhibits, which were amazing — visually appealing and full of details.  From slavery to the civil rights movement and sports to hip hop the museum truly offers an exhaustive look at the African American experience in the United States.  I must admit that some of the exhibits were heart-wrenching, such as the horrible incidents of racial terrorism.  At the same time, there were uplifting moments as well, with Martin Luther King Jr.’s fight for civil rights being one of them.

Then, along with members of our Appointments Committee (Tom Joo, chair, David Horton, Elizabeth Joh), Senior Associate Dean Afra Afsharipour and I interviewed faculty candidates at the Association of American Law Schools’ annual Faculty Recruitment Conference.  We talked to an impressive group of candidates who had great interest in UC Davis School of Law.

At a lunch break, I served on a panel discussing the faculty recruitment process in the AALS Minority Groups Section suite.  I had the ability to meet, greet, and offer some thoughts on the hiring process with some wonderful candidates of color.

UC Davis School of Law had some great days in Washington D.C.!