November 1, 2010 

Dear Boyd Faculty and Administration,  

We, your student body, write to communicate our collective interest in acquiring greater ideological diversity among our professors—a faculty that is truly representative of the diverse student body it seeks to educate.  Ideological diversity is especially important in the field of Constitutional Law, therefore, the Faculty and Administration should give great weight to ideological diversity as they seek to fill a position in this area.  We believe that ideological diversity will enrich our education by exposing us to a higher level of classroom discussion that will avoid the stifling atmosphere that often accompanies academic homogeny.   

As law students, we desire to hone our critical thinking and logic skills through a variety of classroom and practical experiences.  One of the best ways to strengthen our advocacy and reasoning techniques is through exposure to differing faculty viewpoints that challenge students to stretch beyond our comfort levels and question our beliefs. When we are challenged to defend our individual opinions, our beliefs become either solidified or weakened by reason.  Ultimately, this tempering process creates a stronger and more polished advocate and law school graduate. Finally, we believe that our exposure to differing viewpoints affords us the opportunity to become more open-minded and more tolerant of our classmates and peers.    

It is our desire, as Boyd students, that the administration improve the school's academic diversity by hiring more ideologically diverse professors- especially in the field of Constitutional Law.   We appreciate the current hiring process and the faculty that process has produced; however, we respectfully request that a public forum be held with students and faculty regarding potential candidates to ensure our collective goals are achieved.  Regardless of a potential public forum, we hope you will join us in recogizing the importance of ideological diversity at Boyd and in achieving increased academic diversity in the ongoing faculty hiring process.  

  Respectfully, 

The William S. Body Student Body