Penn State law school’s new ‘Strategic Plan’ makes ‘anti-racism’ core mission

The Pennsylvania State University Dickinson Law School’s newly updated “Strategic Plan” commits the school to “anti-racism and anti-oppression,” sparking concern over the institution’s priorities.

The five-year plan emphasizes “antiracist principles” and “expansion of employment opportunities for underrepresented candidates” rather than education, The Washington Free Beacon reported.

One of the objectives in the Strategic Plan reads, “Prepare all colleagues to teach and learn about institutional antiracism in support of a new commitment to the land-grant mission that is structured for all to benefit from educational, career, and social opportunities built on the core value of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging.”

“Continuing to increase diversity, broadly defined, at Penn State Dickinson Law at all levels is critical to the ongoing commitment to expanding access to meaningful employment opportunities for candidates who are underrepresented in the University and at the Law School,” the plan reads. 

Reached for comment, Students for Fair Admissions President Edward Blum criticized the mission statement for promoting an ideological agenda.

“A law school’s primary responsibility is to teach students how to think critically, understand our nation’s constitutional principles, and apply the law fairly and impartially,” Blum told The College Fix via email.

He said that modern “anti-racism” relies on race-conscious policies that give preferential treatment to certain racial groups, which violates the principle of equal protection under the law and federal civil rights statutes.

“When a law school elevates ideological concepts such as the polarizing and often illegal ‘anti-racism’ into an institutional mission, it raises legitimate alarms about the judgement and priorities of leadership,” he said.

Penn State Dickinson Law School Media Relations and Dean Danielle Conway did not respond to multiple emails from The College Fix requesting clarification on the plan. 

Beyond the broader strategic plan, the law school has taken a more concrete step.

Aaron Sibarium, a reporter for The Washington Free Beacon, exposed a “mandatory anti-racism class” at Penn State in a post on X.

“Penn State told 1L law students they must ‘acknowledge the reality of systemic racism’ and ‘dismantle systems that racialize, subordinate, and oppress,’” the post reads. 

Sibarium also posted audio from a course lecture in which multiple faculty members can be heard promoting “anti-racism.” 

“Being a lawyer is about recognizing and combating injustice,” Professor Emily Spottswood said. 

The professor said the course is “not optional” because engaging in “anti-racism” is not just “one way to be a good lawyer.”

“Paying attention to these things is what it means … to be a good lawyer,” Spottswood said.  

The professor, who identifies as a “trans woman,” also said, “There is a lot happening against people in my community,” and urged students to focus on “combatting oppression and injustice.”

Associate Dean Jeffrey Doge told students they are part of a “broader coalition and effort towards building a more anti-racist … approach to our law and legal systems.”

“We are taking action to disrupt and dismantle systems that racialize, subordinate, and oppress,” the dean said. “We … want to acknowledge the reality of systemic racism … as a foundation for this course.”

In another post on X, Sibarium wrote that The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression told The Free Beacon that the university may have violated the First Amendment by requiring students to affirm contested claims about white supremacy.

One student dropped out of the law school to avoid this mandatory course. 

“My law degree is not worth sitting through a mandatory DEI class that spits on my entire background,” Texas military veteran David Blackman told The Free Beacon. 

“You have a lot of people who say DEI is bad, but I gave up a law career because of it,” he said.