Debate ensues over University of New Mexico law dean's contract renewal with admissions policies at center
After calls to not renew the contract of the dean of the University of New Mexico School of Law based on allegations that include a decrease in diverse students and faculty, some professors are standing in support of her retention. (Photo from Shutterstock)
After calls to not renew the contract of the dean of the University of New Mexico School of Law based on allegations that include a decrease in diverse students and faculty, some professors are standing in support of her retention.
Law.com has the story.
Four professors emeritus wrote an opinion piece in the Albuquerque Journal on June 28 in support of law dean Camille Carey, who has been in the post since July 2022.
According to the letter, enrollment data for ethnic groups and an increased focus on LSAT scores for admissions does not show the decrease alleged by other groups.
The professors noted that data for the state’s only law school reported to the ABA shows that the number of students enrolled identifying as American Indian or Alaska Native decreased from 14, or 4.8% of the student population, in 2021 to 11, or 3.7%, in 2025, according to the letter, while the Law School Admission Council data from the previous admission cycle indicates that those figures were 24, or 8.2%, in 2021 and 23, or 7.8%, in 2025.
Students, alumni and community leaders disagree.
Last month, Jessica I. Martínez, an immigration lawyer and an alum of the University of New Mexico School of Law who identifies as an Indigenous woman and whose LSAT scores “weren’t high enough for some law schools,” wrote a letter in the Santa Fe New Mexican.
Martínez wrote that “the law school didn’t just admit me, its leaders invested in who I am and what I could do for New Mexico.”
A decision about Carey’s contract is not expected before mid-July, according to Law.com.
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