Brietta Clark becomes the first Black woman to lead Loyola Law School
After more than 20 years of teaching and about five months serving as interim dean, Brietta Clark will now see her portrait as the 19th dean of Loyola Law.
While this may be the crowning achievement of her academic career, she has entered the record books as the first Black woman to lead LMU's Law School, a first in the university's 103-year history. She joins a growing club of Black women leading law schools across the country but is only the second to hold the position in California, according to a database maintained by Mississippi College School of Law.
Clark is cognizant of the potential impact she has on future students.
"I do hope the fact my existence will help show someone, 'Oh, actually. I can get that far. That looks like me. I can see myself there," she remarked.
Her appointment comes at a time when some school areas looking to be more inclusive in the way they teach about the law.
"This is a place where we interrogate the law," Clark said. "Where we're all about social justice. We think about inequality, right? And yet it has taken a long time for the legal academy to start to have its leadership, and even its professors and faculty and students, really reflect the diversity of America."
Her commitment comes as the nation faces major legal battles over reproductive rights, immigration, social justice and her area of expertise, the the health inequities laid bare by COVID-19.
"It should be about facilitating dialogue, bringing in all kinds of people who have different lenses, different philosophies, different faith, coming together to help both explain their point of view but also be able to listen to others and find common ground," she said.
In her five-month tenure as acting dean, Clark raised more than $6 million to help support Loyola's vision of academic excellence with impact.
"We need to make sure that communities we are serving are reflected," Clark said. "That their views are known and that people understand what kind of problems exist that we need to try to solve."
Clark will oversee a student body that totals more than 300 students, over 60% of whom are women.
--Laurie Perez contributed reporting.