Diversity, Inclusion and Empowerment

As a student-centered, community-connected, justice-driven law school, UMKC School of Law embraces diversity as central to its mission of educating practice-ready lawyers and as a driver of excellence in teaching and learning. UMKC recognizes and values a broad spectrum of diversities, including race, ethnicity, culture, nationality, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, sexual orientation, disability, linguistic ability, learning style, religion, socioeconomic and veteran status, life experiences, educational level and family structure.

Student Affinity Organizations

You can find a student organization for almost any professional interest at UMKC School of Law.

More student organizations can be found on RooGroups.

Student Resources

Division of Diversity and Inclusion

The Division of Diversity and Inclusion provides organizational development consultation and dynamic programming that enriches the educational experiences of students, staff, faculty, and community members.

The Office of Affirmative Action

The dedicated staff members in the Office of Affirmative Action are committed to inclusion and equity, as well as the University’s key values of learning, diversity, integrity, accountability, respect and collaboration.

UMKC Counseling Services

The mission of UMKC Counseling Services is to foster the psychological well-being, personal development and educational potential of our diverse student body.

Disability Resources

UMKC has several offices and departments that offer services to people with disabilities. Whether you need assistance getting around campus, accessing adaptive technology, or getting accommodations for your classes, we have staff and tools available.

Diverse Student Coalition

The UMKC Law Diverse Student Coalition advocates for the interests of the law school’s diverse student organizations, including the Black Law Students Association, the Latino Law Students Association, the Asian Pacific Islander Law Students Association, and the OutLaws (the LGBTQ+ students association). With the help of the Diverse Alumni Network, the Diverse Student Coalition hosts the Diversity Banquet every year to celebrate diversity in the legal community, honor the Diverse Student Coalition Scholarship recipient(s), and raise funds for the scholarship. The Diverse Student Coalition Endowed Scholarship is awarded each year to one or more diverse incoming law students. The goal is to maintain a meaningful and sustainable scholarship that can significantly alleviate the financial burden of attending law school.

Scholarships and Financial Aid

UMKC invests in diversity and we are committed to helping you develop a plan using a variety of resources so your focus can remain on your law school education.

Faculty Research and Scholarship

The Law School supports faculty research and scholarship in the areas of social, racial and economic justice with research grants, student research assistance and other support.

Diverse Alumni Network

The UMKC Law Diverse Alumni Network seeks to aid in fostering an inclusive environment at the UMKC School of Law and in the Kansas City legal community where diversity is valued and celebrated. The network strives to build and maintain an active and engaged community of UMKC Law diverse alumni committed to influencing diversity initiatives and serving as a resource to current UMKC law students of diverse backgrounds. Members of the Diverse Alumni Network are alumni of UMKC School of Law who identify as racially/ethnically diverse—including, but not limited to, African American/Black, Hispanic/Latino, Asian/Pacific Islander—or LGBTQ+. The leadership of the Diverse Alumni Network serves as a committee of the UMKC Law Alumni Association.

UMKC Diversity Events and Resources

We believe in fostering a dynamic and vibrant learning environment by engaging our campus community and Kansas City community in thought-provoking discussions about issues that matter and meaningful programs to create culturally competent citizens.

Events and programs

Alumni Who Advanced Diversity and Inclusion

Hayes and Harriet Brooks

The graduating class of 1916 included the first blind student to graduate from the law school. Mr. Hayes W. Brooks and his wife, Harriet, began law school together and attended all classes together. Hayes was a graduate of the Kansas State School for the Blind in Kansas City, Kansas, and had for many years supported himself by operating a small broom factory which he owned. Harriet had been an art teacher prior to her marriage to Mr. Books. The couple planned to open their own practice in Rosedale, Kansas, as Brooks & Brooks.

Lyda Conley Burton

Eliza Burton “Lyda” Conley was born in 1874 to Eliza Burton Zane Conley, a member of the Wyandotte Indian Tribe, and Andrew Conley, an Englishman. She graduated from the Kansas City School of Law in 1902, along with two other women. Conley’s life changed in 1906 when Congress authorized the Secretary of Interior to convey the sacred Wyandotte Indian burial grounds where Conley’s ancestors were buried. In 1907 Conley filed a petition for an injunction against government intervention in the U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Kansas. Her case eventually came before the U.S. Supreme Court. Conley argued the case pro se, having never been admitted to the Supreme Court Bar. She was the first Native American woman lawyer and the first Native American woman to argue before the Supreme Court.

Elmer Esmeraldo Fabiano

Elmer Esmeraldo Fabiano became the first UMKC School of Law graduate of Asian/Pacific Islander descent. Fabiano was a native of the Philippines, which had become a colony of the United States after the Spanish-American War of 1898. In the years before World War II, a number of Filipino students came to Kansas City School of Law.

Mary Tiera Farrow

Mary Tiera Farrow was not the first woman to graduate from Kansas City School of Law, but she was one of the first to build a career in the practice of law successfully. In her lifetime, came to be known as the “Dean of Women Lawyers.” In 1907 she became the first woman and youngest person elected City Treasurer of Kansas City. After serving two terms she started the first firm of female lawyers in Kansas City. In 1916, she became the first woman in Missouri to defend a client charged with murder. She was appointed as divorce proctor for Jackson County later that year and earned her peers’ first public recognition as a lawyer.

Harold Holliday Sr.

Harold Holliday Sr. is the first African-American graduate of UMKC Law School. He earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in economics before being drafted into the U.S. Army in 1942. When he returned from service, he applied to the Kansas City School of Law. His initial application was rejected based on his race, but Holliday fought the decision and gained admittance. In 1948, Holliday was the first African American admitted to the Kansas City School of Law. Holliday served as a member of the Missouri House of Representatives from 1965-1976, helping pass public accommodations laws that opened up motels and restaurants to African Americans

Filiberto (Filbert) Muñoz

Filiberto Munoz is the first Mexican-American graduate of the School of Law. Born in San Miguel El Alto, Mexico, his family moved to Kansas city when he was six years old. First in his family to go to college, Filiberto served as interpreter when the president of Mexico met with former president Harry Truman. After graduation, Fil was the first Latino attorney in Kansas City, serving as Jackson County assistant prosecutor, then joined McDaniel Title Insurance Company in the 1960s. He eventually became the company's president. Twice president of the Guadalupe Center and one of the founders of The Western Missouri chapter of the ACLU, Fil served as its second president. Filiberto’s power was honed by the fires of economic depression and war, as were so many of what we now call the Greatest Generation.

Kit Carson Roque Jr.

Kit Carson Roque Jr., a 1976 graduate of the School of Law, was appointed in March 1992 as a Kansas City municipal judge. His legacy of community activism and dedication to civil rights and child advocacy issues led to the creation of a scholarship in his honor through the Jackson County Bar Association.

The Importance of Diversity, Inclusion and Empowerment

Keith A. Cutler, '89

Keith A. Cutler has been in private practice with his family-owned law firm, James W. Tippin & Associates, his entire career. Diversity, inclusion, and empowerment in legal education and the justice system matter to Cutler “because the rights of all persons must be respected and protected. When the decision-makers – from judges to attorneys to business executives to police officers to prosecutors – are diverse and are attuned to issues of diversity and inclusion, experience shows that the rights and interests of all involved are better protected, respected and promoted.”

The Honorable Justine E. Del Muro, '84

Jackson County Circuit Judge Justine E. Del Muro was appointed a Circuit Judge for the 16th Judicial Circuit, Jackson County, Missouri, in 1993. She was the Family Court Administrative Judge for two years in 2012 and the Presiding Judge for two years in 2015. Judge Del Muro believes that diversity, inclusion, and empowerment matter in legal education and the judicial system. In trials, a jury must be composed of a fair cross-section of the community. Regardless of color, ethnic origin, or gender, a party to a lawsuit should be able to see a jury venire that includes people like them; all races, gender and ethnicities.

Irene Downs (1974–2019)

Diagnosed with diabetes and suffering a hip injury in an accident, Irene Downs had a challenging childhood. Even though she had to take classes part time to accommodate extensive dialysis treatments, when she arrived at UMKC School of Law in 2017, she immediately became a leader, role model and powerful advocate for diversity and inclusion. She coached the undergraduate Mock Trial team, revamped the Student Bar Association’s constitution, helped with the Pat Kelly Poker Tournament and the Barristers Ball, and served on several boards and committees. She won lawyering skills competitions in advocacy and client competition, while supporting her teammates to achieve their best performances as well. She was everyone’s friend and biggest cheerleader. Irene teaches us that at the heart of true empowerment is not fear or outrage or challenge or drive or ambition. It is love.

Kellsey Fennell, 2L

Kellsey Fennel says she has already experienced so much at UMKC Law. She received a judicial internship with the 16th Circuit Court of Jackson County and a second at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Missouri. She has worked with UMKC’s Self-Help Legal Clinic and the Business and Entrepreneurship Clinic. Fennell believes every person deserves the same chance at life, and it’s important we diversify the student body in order to shape the justice system to reflect society as a whole. “With this platform, I feel we have a duty to ensure laws are being made and regulated for the benefit of every person,” she says.

Eric Honea, '21

During law school, Eric Honea interned with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. He is currently with the firm of Meyerkord, Russell & Hergott. The words diversity, inclusion and empowerment are powerful to Honea, and have their own important meaning. When you put them together, Honea says, “they are even more profound and have the ability to break down walls and create a greater community and justice system.”

Judge Marco A. Roldan, '83

Judge Marco A. Roldan was appointed Circuit Judge to Division 16 of the 16th Judicial Circuit in September 1999, where he continues to serve. Judge Roldan believes that diversity, inclusion and empowerment matter in legal education and the justice system because “our justice system needs to mirror our society that is so diverse. An educational and justice system that is diverse will ensure diversity in future generations.”

Jasmine Ward, '21

Jasmine Ward wants to practice civil rights law and champion disadvantaged communities. In her 3L year, Ward competed with the UMKC Law mock trial team, qualifying for the National Mock Trial competition. She also interned with the Johnson County District Attorney’s Office and the Indiana Federal Community Defenders. Ward believes that diversity, inclusion and empowerment matter in legal education and the justice system “because the legal system impacts all people, so all people should be involved in creating those laws and ensuring they work justly across the board.”

Callie Williams, '21

Callie Williams stayed busy at UMKC School of Law. She served as President of Estates and Trusts Society, Vice President and Secretary of BLSA, SBA Diversity Chair, and Barbri Representative. Williams believes that diversity, inclusion and empowerment matter in legal education and the justice system “because a justice and educational system without varying cultures, perspectives, values, races, genders, ages, and ethnicities will unquestionably fail to provide the ‘justice and education’ it is attempting to establish.”

Claire Wyatt, '21

Claire Wyatt interned for a progressive prosecutor’s office for several semesters during her time at UMKC. She served as the President of the Animal Law Society, worked over 300 pro-bono hours, and spent time at the Texas-Mexico border, where she served as an interpreter and advocate for detained refugee women and children seeking asylum in the U.S. Wyatt believes that diversity, inclusion, and empowerment matter in legal education and the justice system because the law has been a powerful weapon that has both wielded oppression and combatted it throughout history.