It was the anniversary of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, a protest that would be a pivotal event in the Civil Rights movement, and the 1965 Voting Rights Act when Franita Tolson was installed as dean of the USC Gould School of Law.
Not only did Tolson have history on her mind in that hallow moment, but she was also making it.
Tolson would become the first Black dean and the second female dean in the 124-year history of USC’s Gould School of Law. The last dean was a Latino.
During her installation, Tolson firmly honored the courageous individuals who protested segregation, especially those who risked their lives in the march to Selma which was met with a brutal attack known as Bloody Sunday.
“We honor our history and our ancestors because their sacrifices give us a glimpse of what is possible and what can be,” Tolson said during her remarks captured in the university’s press.
“In my role as dean, respecting the journeys of those who walked the paths that we now walk helps me to respect and appreciate the journeys of all in our community. It also helps me to chart a path forward that is sensitive to, and seeks to build on, a history that has emphasized greatness and the principle that if we can dream it, we can achieve it.”
Approximately 200 people attended Tolson’s installation to mark the historic appointment, including USC President Carol Folt, Provost Andrew T. Guzman, and many of the leaders of USC’s 22 other schools and academic units.
“Appointing Franita dean of the law school was as easy a choice as a Provost could ever make,” said Guzman. “Her scholarly reputation in public law is impeccable, she has deep administrative experience as Vice Dean, and holds the universal respect of the faculty, staff, and students.
“Though legal education has faced a string of major challenges dating back to the great recession of 2008-2009, Franita is battle-tested in crisis. Looking ahead, we know legal education will encounter new challenges and that our mission — producing superb lawyers and impactful scholarship — will remain as critical to our society as it has ever been. In the current moment, we could not ask for a better leader than Franita Tolson,” added Guzman.
Guzman’s admiration for Tolson underscores the crucial asset she brings to her leadership, especially as the essence of democracy faces significant challenges. Tolson is a nationally recognized scholar in election law. She has addressed such topics as the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the 14th and 15th Amendments, partisan gerrymandering, and other constitutional issues. Her work has appeared in “Harvard Law Review,” “Yale Law Journal,” and “Stanford Law Review.”
In addition, as vice dean of USC Gould, Tolson co-chaired the academic affairs subcommittee that developed the law school’s “Race, Racism and the Law” course, a first-of-its-kind required course among top law schools nationwide.
USC is currently ranked in the top 20 according to a U.S. News & World Report survey of 192 law schools and was 4th in diversity among the top 20 law schools for the U.S. News & World Report Diversity Index listing.
“USC law has a history of being a trailblazing school – the woman who became a dean in 1969 was the first to be dean of any law school,” said Tolson. “We graduated our first African American student around 1904.
“USC law is over 50 percent people of color…but I think it’s important to recognize that Black women are a small portion of law students, and we’re spread thin. Black women are a small number of law firm partners. …Because of this, not a lot of people (Black women) put themselves on this path to become a dean of a law school,” Tolson added.
Tolson has enlisted law school alumni to help increase and mentor highly trained students of color. She is also setting up programs that will focus on sports and entertainment, media, and technology because those industries are based in Los Angeles.
