William H. Hastie Fellowship Program – Increasing the Diversity of the Law Teaching Profession
For over 40 years, the University of Wisconsin’s William H. Hastie Fellowship Program has provided an opportunity for lawyers of color to prepare for a career in law teaching. The Hastie Fellowship is customarily a two-year program, leading to an LL.M. degree. Candidates pursue a scholarly interest of their choice and are encouraged both to pursue publishable research for their thesis and to demonstrate a capacity to contribute as a scholar to legal studies. The University of Wisconsin established the Hastie Fellowship in 1973. It honors William H. Hastie (1904-1976), a lawyer, teacher, jurist, and civil rights advocate who championed the importance of high-quality legal education. University of Wisconsin Law School Professor James E. Jones, Jr., now professor emeritus, well-known as a leading expert in labor law and as the architect of several significant programs aimed at achieving greater racial equality in the work force, was a moving force in creating this program.
The Program:
The Hastie Fellowship Program encourages scholarship in the full range of law studies, including law as related to minorities. The strong Wisconsin tradition for studies of the law in action and for interdisciplinary work creates a particularly supportive atmosphere for those with these interests. Candidates are encouraged to take full advantage of long-established ties between the law faculty and faculty in other disciplines, and they will have easy access to the vast resources of the entire University. Each Hastie fellow, before beginning work, establishes a relationship with a faculty member who will serve as the fellow’s principal research advisor, guiding the fellow’s research project. Additional faculty are likely to assist as well. Highest priority is attached to the production of an LL.M. thesis that meets the requirements of the Graduate Committee of the Law School. Most fellows base one or more articles on the thesis. Ideally one article should be ready for submission prior to completion of the program. The thesis work has proven of great value to Hastie Fellows in demonstrating scholarly ability to prospective employers. Another important aspect of the Hastie Fellowship Program is to help each fellow develop strong teaching skills. Throughout the Fellowship, fellows are teamed with teachers covering subjects of interest to the fellow. This allows the fellow to observe and assist in teaching. Whenever possible, in the final semester of the program, the Hastie fellow will have the opportunity to teach a course or seminar in an area of interest to the fellow. Fellows are encouraged to become involved in the life of the law school by attending colloquia, faculty meetings, and social gatherings; engaging with the many scholars and public officials who visit at the school each year; participating in student-sponsored activities; and simply joining in the oftentimes rich exchanges that occur over lunch or morning coffee. The Hastie fellow is treated more as a junior colleague than as a graduate student.
Fellowship Term:
The term and internal sequence of the Hastie program are designed to accommodate the need for intensive research and writing, participation in the hiring process of law schools, and gaining some teaching experience. Hastie fellows will be appointed for a term of usually two years. During the term of the appointment, fellows are required to be in residence in Madison and enrolled in the Law School, with a commitment to participating fully in the life of the law school. Applications for the program are solicited in the fall of each year. (Application information is given below.) The first year of the program is devoted primarily to work on the thesis. By the fall of the second year, it is expected that Hastie fellows will be sufficiently advanced in their research to enable them, as they seek law school faculty appointments, to submit their draft materials and make oral presentations based on their work. The final semester in residence focuses on providing, whenever possible, a teaching experience and finishing work on the thesis or publication derived from it.
THE APPLICATION DEADLINE IS FEBRUARY 1 to be considered for the next academic year.
For additional details about the application process, etc., please visit the website.