Diversity and Inclusion

/https://siu.edu/search-results.php

Last Updated: Aug 31, 2026, 03:59 PM

Simmons Law School is an anti-racist institution that is committed to principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion, both in the profession of law and society at large. We welcome and actively recruit students, staff, and faculty who want to work and learn in an environment that nurtures and respects diversity in all its forms, including race, color, ethnicity, religion, national origin, gender, gender indentity or expression, sexual orientation, age, culture, disability, and military status.

Simmons Law School has a policy of non-discrimination that prohibits the use of admission policies or other actions to preclude admission of applicants or retention of students on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, religion, national origin, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, disability, or military status.

Simmons Law School adheres to policies that foster and maintain equality of opportunity for students, faculty, and staff, without discrimination or segregation on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, religion, national origin, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, disability, or military status.

Simmons Law School’s non-discrimination policy extends to all employers that recruit our students and to all of our externship sites, prospective and current.  Every employer to whom SIU Simmons Law School furnishes assistance and facilities for interviewing and other placement services shall observe the principles of non-discrimination and equality of opportunity on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, religion, national origin, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, disability, or military status in regard to hiring, promotion, retention, and conditions of employment.

  • Courses

    • LAW 519 - Constitutional Law: Individual Rights
    • LAW 593  - Immigration Law
    • LAW 559  - International Business Transactions
    • LAW 558  - International Law
    • LAW 580  - Legal Profession
    • LAW 627  - Women in Leadership: Diverse Leaders for a Diverse Workforce
    • LAW 590 -  Slavery, Race, Law, & History in Southern Illinois

  • Events

    • Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month (Sept.-Oct.)
    • LGBTQ+ History Month (Oct.)
    • Native American Heritage Month (Nov.)
    • Black History Month (Feb.)
    • Women’s History Month (Mar.)
    • Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month (Apr.)
    • Diversity Prelaw Summer Institute (a pipeline program)
    • Upward Bound
    • Critical Lens on Current Issues

  • Scholarships and Awards

    • Diversity and Inclusion Alumni Award
    • Thurgood Marshall Award (student)

  • Sponsorships

    • Council on Legal Education Opportunity (CLEO) – Sustaining Institution
    • Diversity Scholarship Foundation

Critical Lens on Current Issues

SIU Simmons Law School hosts discussions of pending and recent Supreme Court decisions on issues affecting groups celebrated during the University’s history and heritage months. In the Fall, discussions were led by faculty; in the Spring discussions were led by leaders in the legal profession.

 Fall 2023

  • East Bay Sanctuary Covenant v. Biden (led by Prof. Buys)
  • 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis (led by Prof. Anderson and Cox)
  • Haaland v. Brackeen (led by Prof. Upchurch)

Spring 2024 

  • Discussion about women in war led by Prof. Tetyana Antsupova, British Institute of International and Comparative Law and former Supreme Court Justice of Ukraine
  • Discussion about anti-Asian discrimination and hate crimes led by Grace Pai, Executive Director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Chicago
  • Discussion of the SAFE-T Act, led by Joe Cervantes ’13 Jackson County State’s Attorney, Celeste Korando ’03 Jackson County Public Defender, Hon. Jonathan Mitchell Associate Judge First Judicial Circuit, Stan Reno Chief of Police Carbondale IL, Justin Kuehn ’01 Past-President IL Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and Kevin Zielinksi ‘25

For Military Members

Supporting Those Who Serve
The Simmons Law School is part of the Southern Illinois University system, with a tradition of over 150 years of educational excellence, serving a diverse, multicultural student body.

SIU has a long history of supporting those who serve by providing outstanding educational opportunities to military veterans; active duty, National Guard, and Reserve personnel; and their families. These educational opportunities for service members extend to the SIU Simmons Law School.

Southern Illinois University Carbondale has earned recognition from national publications.

Group of ROTC students march on SIU Campus
  • Named in Military Times magazine for being “Best for Vets: Colleges 2020” for four-year universities. The university has made that list in each of the last nine years.
  • Military Advanced Education & Transition magazine awarded SIU Carbondale a “Top School” designation in its “2018 Guide to Colleges and Universities.” SIU has made the list in each of the 11 years the guide has been published.

SIU Simmons Law enables military students to maximize their educational benefits in a supportive environment. SIU Simmons Law offers military students the following resources.

  • Military Student Sponsor Program that matches admitted students with an established upper-level law student;
  • Assigned faculty mentor at time of admittance;
  • Military Law Society, a registered law student organization of service members and allies; and
  • Access to SIUC’s Veterans Services Office.

While in law school, students learn the skills necessary to become a leader in the profession and can choose to use those skills to give back to the military community through the SIU Simmons Law Veterans' Legal Assistance Program Clinic, the Veterans Legal and Medical Partnership (VetLAMP), and other pro bono initiatives.