Following controversy, Penn Carey Law announces new post-graduate fellowship program named for Sadie Alexander
Penn Carey Law announced a new post-graduate fellowship program named for its first Black graduate and civil rights activist Sadie T.M. Alexander, and a new full-tuition scholarship program.
The University of Pennsylvania’s Law School on Friday announced a new postgraduate fellowship program named for its first Black graduate and civil rights activist Sadie T.M. Alexander, and a full-tuition scholarship program for incoming students with the greatest financial need.
The move comes a little over a month after an uproar over Penn Carey Law’s decision to pause a full-tuition scholarship program named for Alexander and the closing of its equal opportunity and engagement office. Those decisions came as President Donald Trump’s administration pushed for an end to diversity, equity, and inclusion programs at universities nationwide. The White House has threatened to pull federal funding from those that do not comply.
» READ MORE: Penn Carey Law’s decision to pause scholarship, close equal opportunity office draws fire: ‘A racial attack’
When Dean Sophia Z. Lee announced the scholarship pause last month, she said current scholars would continue to receive support and that “details about the program’s future” would be released later.
“Together, these initiatives affirm Penn Carey Law’s dedication to reducing barriers to entry and ensuring that students — regardless of financial circumstances — can embark on their legal education and carry it forward into their choice of meaningful careers,“ the school said in its Friday announcement. ”These initiatives also honor the legacy of Dr. Alexander by extending her vision of access and opportunity."
The new programs are different: The Alexander fellowship will provide two years of funding for graduates whose work advances civil rights. The prior program funded tuition scholarships for current students who wanted to focus on racial justice and honoring Alexander’s legacy.
Both programs are open to students of any race or ethnicity. The school declined to release how many fellowships and full-tuition scholarships would be awarded per year.
The prior scholarship program, the school said, will remain on pause for new applications.
The law school’s decisions last month to close the equity office and pause the scholarship drew some harsh criticism. “It just seems like that is a racial attack,” Chad Dion Lassiter, head of the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, said at the time.
Student, alumni, and faculty groups, as well as the Philadelphia branch of the NAACP, also were critical of the decision.
“Penn Carey Law’s capitulation marks a dangerous retreat from its proclaimed commitment to ‘advance belonging through community support, dialogue across differences and expert guidance,’” the executive board of the Penn Carey Law’s Black Law Students Association said in a statement at the time.
But the move brought positive reaction Friday from some who had been critical.
“This is a wonderful thing,” Lassiter said. “For me, it shows how when we lean in with truth, love and kindness for all of humanity and we set aside the political rhetoric ... this is a beautiful outcome.”
City Council member Jamie R. Gauthier also applauded the move.
“I’m glad Penn Law listened to my feedback, as well as that of its Black alumni, in restoring some initiatives that make the school more welcoming and inclusive,” she said. “I hope this is the start of a larger, university-wide re-commitment to diversity.”
The dean had said at the time that while the equity office was closing, the office’s work would be integrated into broader schoolwide initiatives.
The fellowship, the school said, will be geared toward projects that focus on racial and economic justice and that serve communities in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., based on Alexander’s ties to both.
The new programs are an “immediate first step” to broaden access to a law school education, the school said.
“Looking to the future, that includes raising funds to dramatically expand its full-tuition and need-based scholarships,” she said, as well as other efforts.