Mission

Vanderbilt Law School's Social Justice Program promotes a dynamic educational program and an atmosphere within the law school in which issues of social justice are openly and regularly discussed by faculty and students both inside and outside the classroom and as part of the scholarly agenda of the faculty.

For purposes of this program, the term “social justice” includes the role of law in creating, perpetuating and eradicating hierarchies of power and privilege in our society, such as those based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation and social and economic status, and the responsibility of the legal profession to address the interests of marginalized, subordinated and underrepresented clients and causes.

The program’s mission is to:

  • Ensure that Vanderbilt Law Students receive an education that instills a commitment to social justice
  • Support research and other scholarly and professional activities of faculty that focus on issues of social justice, and
  • Prepare students for a career in social justice and support them in that career choice.

A major step in fulfilling the mission of the Social Justice Program will be the establishment of a Social Justice Center. The Social Justice Center, under the direction of the Social Justice Program, will focus on the following seven pursuits:

  1. Identifying and developing curricular offerings within Vanderbilt Law School and in other divisions of the University that reflect a social justice orientation.
  2. Drawing upon existing resources within the Law School, the University, and other academic institutions in the community to develop scholarly projects on social justice themes.
  3. Assisting in attracting to the Law School new faculty (including visitors) and guest speakers (including scholars and practitioners) in the field of social justice
  4. Sponsoring conferences and workshops on social justice
  5. Working with other units of the Law School to attract students interested in careers in social justice
  6. Engaging in social action projects consistent with the mission of the program; and
  7.  Involving interested students and student organizations in the development of social justice-related activities and projects.