62. Conversation with Carla D. Pratt, Ada Lois Sipuel Fisher Chair in Civil Rights, Race, and Justice in the Law at OU Law, and former Dean at Washburn University School of Law

EdUp Legal

Welcome back to America's leading higher education law podcast, EdUp Legal - part of the EdUp Experience Podcast Network!

In today's episode, we welcome Carla D. Pratt, a national leader in diversity and inclusion and the holder of the inaugural Ada Lois Sipuel Fisher Chair in Civil Rights, Race, and Justice in the Law at the University of Oklahoma College of Law, a position she starts this summer after four years as dean of Washburn University School of Law.

Dean Pratt describes her journey to the dean position at Washburn after having spent considerable time at Penn State, noting that it was Washburn's strong history and commitment to inclusion that attracted her to the position. Dean Pratt shares the innovative curricular approach at Washburn that allows students to receive one-third of their JD degree through distance education. This enables students to spend their last year in residence wherever they intend to live and practice after they graduate and pass the bar exam. The distance education opportunity also allows them to enter the legal market sooner to get some experience in the kind of law they intend to practice through a paid externship in the local legal market. Currently, their first cohort taking advantage of this innovation is spread out among 12 different states across the nation.

Dean Pratt discusses the conclusion of her dean position at Washburn at the end of spring 2022, and her new position in her home state of Oklahoma, serving as the inaugural Ada Lois Sipuel Fisher Chair in Civil Rights, Race, and Justice in Law at the University of Oklahoma College of Law. In addition to her enthusiasm over being back home and being honored with this endowed chair, she predicts the future of legal education and her hopes for innovation that includes increased accessibility to legal education through online delivery.

Thank you so much for tuning in. Join us on the next episode for your EdUp time!

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