Indiana's top judge stresses diversity

Indiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Randall Shepard will deliver a speech to the law community about the importance of diversity.\nJustice Shepard, a large supporter of the IU School of Law, will speak at noon in the Law School's Moot Court Room.\nThe Chief Justice oversaw the creation of the Indiana Conference for Legal Education Opportunity, the first program in the country to help disadvantaged students attend law school. Shepard is a seventh generation Hoosier who graduated from Princeton University and Yale Law School. \n"He's a huge supporter of diversity in the profession," said Lauren Robel, the acting Dean at the School of Law. \nKenneth Washington, a member of the Black Law Student Association, said he admires Chief Justice Shepard.\n"He believes that everyone, given an opportunity, can be the best they can be," Washington said.\nThe event is also sponsored by the Asian Pacific-Islander American Law Student Association, the Latino Law Student Association and the Middle Eastern Law Student Association.\nLeora Baude, the public relations director for the School of Law, said Shepard will be speaking for about 45 minutes.