Longtime Assistant Dean of Admissions Issa DiSciullo, recently also appointed director of diversity and inclusion, aims to strengthen the law school’s already robust community.

“We’ve always had a strong commitment to diversity,” said DiSciullo, who first began leading the school’s Admissions Office in 2009. “We’d always strive to bring in as diverse a group of students as possible.”

Over time, she said, administrators began crafting strategies to ensure that all students feel equally connected to the community and that the school offers a forum and process that promote inclusion.  

The arrival of international students enrolled in the Global JD and LLM programs only intensified that desire, DiSciullo explained.

“It’s wonderful that we’re becoming an increasingly diverse school,” she said. “We want to make sure that everyone here shares a sense of belonging.”

DiSciullo has already begun training students, faculty and staff on micro-aggressions, which are verbal or nonverbal behaviors that – intentionally or unintentionally – communicate hostilities or insults toward members of minority groups.

Over the course of the year, DiSciullo also plans to work with student organizations and affinity groups that are planning events or seeking to address shared concerns.

DiSciullo will also help other administrators assess the need for future programs and activities that will promote inclusion and success for all students.

“We all bring different things to the table.  We want to make sure that we work together as a community,” she said. “That’s the only way we’ll all be able to succeed.”