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Such links to the Law School's curriculum bolster the prograds infrastructure. Penn Law's upper-level curriculum features relevant courses and seminars in the Public Service Program such as Immigration Law, the Death Penalty, Welfare Law, and Employment Discrimination. Sparer Fellowships provide a bridge between practice and theory, the resulting synergy intensifying and strengthening the overall experience. The annual Sparer Conference spotlights Penn Law as the center of choice for university-level discussions of public interest policy. Last April, the 18t' annual two-day conference addressed "Welfare Reform: A War on Poor or Poverty?" Panelists included Frances Fox Piven, CUNY Professor of Political Science and Sociology, Harvard Law professor Lucie White, and Penn history professor Michael Katz, among other nationally known professionals, speaking on "Resistance in the Workfare State" and "Legal Strategies for Surviving Welfare Reform." More than 100 community leaders, law students, and lawyers attended from across the country. The Law School's commitment to the Public Service Program is fundamental to its success. The Sparer Summer Fellowships provide one element, complemented by the Public Interest Scholarships. Each year Penn awards a two-thirds tuition scholarship to four incoming students selected on the basis of commitment to public interest work, ability to contribute to Penn's public interest community, and potential for public service leadership. Recognition of Penn Law's Public Service Program can come in unusual ways. Stacey DeBroff, Founding Director of the Office of Public Interest Advising at Harvard Law School, observed that "the Independence Foundation was so inspired by Penn's program that it created well-paid legal services fellowships for law students to work in the trenches immediately upon graduation." |
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Similarly, when the Commission on Pro Bono and
Public Service Opportunities of the Association of American Law Schools made its
report in March, it recommended mandatory pro bono programs for all law schools
and featured Penn's program in its report.
Foundations regularly select Penn Law students for some of their most prestigious
public service awards: in 1999, Carolyn Silver E98 received an Independence Foundation
Fellowship to work with the AIDS Law Project, and Brant Campbell E99 won a coveted
Skadden Fellowship. With only 25 Skadden Fellowships awarded nationwide each
year, in both 1996 and 1997 Penn Law students garnered two fellowships each year.
But there is a price for such success: only when you reach a summit do you see the
other mountains ahead. Students going into public service need funding for loan
assistance. As outreach expands, student projects require more space. The success of
the 1999 Sparer Conference and Penn Law's growing national reputation in the public
service sector demand conference space for public interest scholars to meet. With the
energy of program head Susan Feathers, institutional support from Penn Law, and the
abilities of students attracted to the prograri@s mission, the Public Service Program is
sure to remain the model for public service education nationwide. But even as the
program stays one step ahead of comparable institutions, it will stay in step with the
communities served by Penn Law graduates committed to seeking justice and improving
our world. 
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