Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Belonging at Texas Law

Observed throughout the United States since the 1980s, Women’s History Month each March honors and celebrates the impact women have made on society. Likewise, female students, faculty, staff, and alumnae also have helped shape the history of The University of Texas at Austin and of Texas Law. From Irene Gertrude Brown and Rose Zelosky being the first female graduates of Texas Law in 1914 to the present – including the past two first-year classes with more female than male law students – women have made their mark here. This month, The University of Texas at Austin is featuring stories, exhibits, events and reading resources that highlight extraordinary women in history and the present.

As part of Texas Law’s Diverse Voices Speaker Series, Professor Doris “Wendy” Greene spoke about her legal research into combatting natural hair discrimination in a presentation entitled “#FreeTheHair: Locking Black Hair to Civil Rights Movements.” She presented to an engaged audience of students and faculty in the school’s Eidman Courtroom on Saturday, Feb. 18, 2023. A trailblazing U.S. anti-discrimination law scholar and advocate who teaches at Drexel University Kline School of Law, Prof. Greene has devoted her professional life’s work to advancing racial, color, and gender equity in workplaces. She founded the #FreeTheHair movement and was a legal architect of the federal CROWN (Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair) Act. Click here to read more!

On Feb. 15, 2023, the U.S. Senate confirmed the nomination of Texas Law alumna Adrienne C. Nelson to the United States District Court for the District of Oregon, making her the first Black woman jurist in Oregon to serve on the federal bench. For the full article, click here.