To the editor:

The visit of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was an outstanding opportunity for the Kansas University School of Law to celebrate its history of accepting students without regard to gender, noting that in 1891 Ella White Brown became the first woman to graduate from the law school. Attending the banquet in Justice Ginsburg’s honor, I found it a privilege to be able to stand as one of the female graduates of KU Law.

However, in a day devoted to the celebration of KU Law Women, there appeared to be one glaring oversight. There was no recognition of the female faculty members of the law school, who, while not graduates of the school, have certainly been integral to the success of a long line of female graduates as mentors, role models and educators in the profession.

Just as Justice Ginsburg was at the vanguard for women’s participation in the legal profession, the female faculty members of KU Law were the next wave of women who paved the way not only for increasing numbers of women in law school, but the expectation that women are an active and necessary part of the legal community in this country.

As the law school begins its search for a new dean over the next year, it is hoped that outstanding female candidates will be strongly considered for the position. At the banquet both Justice Ginsburg and Chief Judge Deanell Tacha reminded the audience of the critical role women have in guarding and shaping the legal landscape of our communities and our country. We must also recognize the vital role that women legal educators play in shaping the legal profession today and for the future.

Karenbeth Zacharias,

Lawrence