Alexander Award Nomination Form 2027
Introduction
Purpose of the Alexander Award
Increasing diversity in the legal profession demands that workplaces expand opportunities
for and contribute to the success of underrepresented students, including racial and
ethnic minorities, students with disabilities, and students who identify as LGBTQ+, by
creating an educational pathway that supports students into and through law school and
into the legal profession. The Alexander Award was created to honor an individual or
organization that has demonstrated exemplary leadership and success in building such
an educational pipeline.
The award is named after the life and legacy of two legal trailblazers – Raymond Pace
Alexander and Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander. Raymond was the first African
American to graduate from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and
become a judge on the Common Pleas Court of Philadelphia. In the early 1930s,
Raymond took two Chester County school districts to court, which ultimately ended de
jure segregation in Pennsylvania schools. Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander, Raymond’s
wife, was the first African American woman to receive a Ph.D. in the United States and
the first woman to receive a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.
The Alexander Award was first awarded by the ABA Council for Diversity in the Educational Pipeline (Pipeline Council) in 2009. In 2023, the Pipeline Council added the Alexander Legal Ambassador Award to honor a law firm or corporate legal department that has demonstrated a commitment to enhancing the educational pathway for diverse communities. The 2027 Alexander Awardees will be honored at the 2027 Titans for Change Gala during the 2027 ABA Midyear Conference (January 27 - February 1) in Chicago, IL
Description
Alexander Award Criteria
The individual or pathway organization must demonstrate exemplary leadership and
success in expanding opportunities for and the success of underrepresented students,
including racial/ethnic minoritized students, students with disabilities, and students who
identify as LGBTQ+, via an educational pipeline that supports students into and through
law school and into the legal profession.
Each year, we receive a number of extraordinary nominations. If your organization was not awarded when the nomination was submitted, it will be automatically considered for the following award cycle.
Alexander Legal Ambassador Award Criteria
The law firm or corporate legal department must show a commitment to increasing
diversity in the legal profession through the expansion of opportunities for and the success
of underrepresented students via an educational pipeline that supports students into
and through law school and into the legal profession. Law firms and legal departments
can demonstrate this commitment either through their own programs or meaningful
support of other pipeline programs.
In its discretion, the Council will award a small or emerging program that has shown
promise in its mission and efforts to increase diversity in the legal profession through
the expansion of opportunities for and the success of underrepresented students along the
educational pipeline. There is no separate nomination process. The Rising Star award
will be given as the Council deems appropriate based on each year’s nominations.
Application requirements include:
Narrative Description. You may either answer each of the questions in the nomination form or incorporate them into a larger narrative. You may do both, but are not required to do so. However, if a particular question does not pertain to your program, please note that information where appropriate. Narrative description, please include:
Details about the nominees' pipeline program, including pathway segments represented, program longevity, outcomes and measures, and the number of students served.
Details on how the pipeline program has significantly changed the landscape of pipeline diversity and assisted others in similar efforts.
Please limit your Narrative Description to no more than four pages. You may include up to eight pages of supplemental material such as articles, photographs, etc. You may also include links to additional materials or resources within the 8-page limit. You may consult the list of past recipients on the Alexander Award website.
Two (2) letters in support of the nominee