43 F
Indianapolis
Friday, March 29, 2024

New law school dean makes history

More by this author

Sixteen years after joining the faculty of Indiana University’s Robert H. McKinney School of Law, Karen Bravo made history by being the first person of color to be named dean. 

Previously, she served as vice dean of the school and in various administrative capacities. 

Bravo, originally from Jamaica, practiced law in New York and Boston before being recruited by Indiana University in 2004. Since then, Bravo has championed several movements on the IUPUI campus, including co-founding IUPUI Next Generation 2.0, an effort to increase diversity on the campus. 

“We met with faculty and staff, and we linked it to the strategic plan,” Bravo said. “We realized that in higher education, women and minoritized persons are not represented, and have more difficulty accessing training to be positioned for the next level of leadership.” 

Bravo, who has studied human trafficking extensively, is also the founder of “Slavery: Past, Present and Future,” an annual conference that brings experts from around the world together to discuss the history of human exploitation and ways slavery still exists in the modern world. 

“I did not know human trafficking existed until I was in the Republic of Armenia … doing a Rule of Law Reform project,” Bravo said. “One of the projects was working on human trafficking in the context of Armenia. I came back [to the states] and went to New York University to do a master’s in trade regulation. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I had always been interested in the slavery question, so somewhere between trade regulation and human trafficking, I really saw the connection of the economics of human trafficking and the concept of human trafficking as a new form of trade in persons.”

Bravo was drawn to the classroom by the opportunity to, as she said, get more into the weeds of certain topics. While she won’t be teaching for the first year of her new position, she is looking forward to engaging with students, staff and faculty to further the law school. 

“[This school] is the heartbeat of the Indianapolis legal education,” she said. “I’d like to have a strategic planning process where we’re able to hear from all our stakeholders, faculty, alums and students, to develop goals for our school, admissions … and maintaining academic rigor.”

IUPUI Chancellor Nasser Paydar believes Bravo’s appointment follows in the recent movement to make the IUPUI campus more reflective of the community.

“Karen Bravo’s selection as the 13th dean of the McKinney School of Law at IUPUI reinforces our campus’s commitment to building visionary executive leadership, strengthening ties to the community, and reinforcing a diverse and inclusive culture,” Paydar said in an email. “This milestone appointment in the life of McKinney Law follows a number of executive appointments … in the past several years, the majority of which have been people of color and women.”

While Bravo is making mental preparations to transition into her new position on July 1, she has conflicting feelings about being the first Black person to hold the position since Indiana University acquired the school in 1944. 

“I’m a little conflicted, because it’s 2020,” she said, “and one sort of thinks there’s no more firsts to be had. I was interested in leadership, so being able to compete and get the position is wonderful. I know that for the institution, it’s a new change … and I’ve got great outpourings of love and support … it’s wonderful for students and prospective students, it’s the messaging that this kind of achievement is possible.”

Beyond working on the school’s strategic plan and increasing diversity — an issue she said law schools around the country are working to address — Bravo is looking forward to making a name for the school around Indianapolis.

“I’m really [looking forward to] bringing the community together,” she said. “Getting us to understand what makes us different and how we’re going to project that into the future so we can continue to be a high-functioning law school providing value into our students and serving the needs of Indiana and our country. … And to do what lawyers do; to serve justice.”

Contact staff writer Breanna Cooper at 317-762-7848. Follow her on Twitter @BreannaNCooper.

- Advertisement -
ads:

Upcoming Online Townhalls

- Advertisement -

Subscribe to our newsletter

To be updated with all the latest local news.

Stay connected

1FansLike
1FollowersFollow
1FollowersFollow
1SubscribersSubscribe

Related articles

Popular articles

Español + Translate »
Skip to content