grateful both to the Commission’ s Co-Chairs, Judge Jeffery Hopkins and Judge Laurel Isicoff, and to its entire membership for their prescience and wisdom.
During the first four years of its subsequent work, the DEI Committee was led by its extraordinary Co-Chair, Judge Erithe Smith, who inspired all members with her thoughtful leadership and tireless dedication. Judge Smith spent countless hours on the DEI Committee’ s work and in meetings. Moreover, she established the protocols and procedures of the DEI Committee and its subcommittees, developed novel and transformative initiatives for the committee and its subcommittees to pursue, attended all meetings of the subcommittees( in addition those of the DEI Committee itself), and served as the DEI Committee’ s representative on the Board of Regents. The College is fortunate that Judge Smith responded positively to our request that she continue as a member of the Committee when her term as Co-Chair ended, and we are grateful for her continued involvement and contributions.
We also were fortunate that, during the first two years of the DEI Committee’ s work, Professor Nancy Rapoport served as the Reporter for the Committee, a role that Judge Paul Hage has assumed and continued with distinction. And we are indebted enormously to the indispensable Jenny Cudahy for her superb management and administrative coordination of the work of the DEI Committee and its subcommittees, as well as her guidance on College policies and substantive issues.( A separate profile of Jenny and her contributions to the College generally appears elsewhere in this issue of College Columns.)
____________________ As Judges Hopkins and Isicoff observed in their introduction to the Select Commission’ s Final Report:
[ A ] more inclusive insolvency and bankruptcy law practice aligns with the College’ s mission of achieving“ the enhancement of professionalism, scholarship, and service in bankruptcy and insolvency law practice.” Having more diversity among bankruptcy professionals in the courtrooms, boardrooms, and conference rooms— where insolvency policies are negotiated and critical financial policy decisions are reached, and where rights under the bankruptcy laws are determined— will improve the bankruptcy process, enhance professionalism, and engender more public respect for the insolvency practice in an evolving multi-racial, multi-cultural society in the United States and abroad.
And those essential truths remain the drivers of the College’ s DEI mission.
Notwithstanding the College’ s enormous strides in recent years, we have taken merely the first steps, and much remains to be done. The Committee looks forward to continuing its hard work, hand-in-glove with all of our Fellows; welcomes your continued support; and is inexpressibly grateful to the College’ s leadership, the staff of our executive office, and all Fellows for their unwavering and steadfast support of the DEI Committee and its work to further enrich the College.
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