The formal portion of the reception included time at the mic from former Fellows and a special appearance from a former law school dean in attendance.

Many cited UW Law Professor James E. Jones Jr. (1924-2014), a leading expert in labor law and the force behind this pioneering program.

One takeaway from Emeritus Professor Peter Carstensen: "Two important features that Professor Jim Jones included were, first, that the fellowship would be for two years so that the Fellow could develop credible scholarly credentials before entering the job market. Because a new fellow started each year, this also created an opportunity for the new fellow to learn from the senior fellow’s experience. Second, Jim insisted that his white male colleagues should take the formal leadership of the Hastie Committee. In the beginning, this provided additional credibility to the program and its graduates, but equally important, it built a stronger and broader faculty commitment to the program."

October 25, 2024