Revitalizing Public Interest at Georgetown

A Report of the Equal Justice Foundation, 1993
Recommendation #5

Create a Public Interest Resource Center

A. Introduction

The prior recommendations are all necessary to create a stronger public interest community at Georgetown. However, in order to maximize the impact of these changes, we recommend that a central administrative office for all public interest programs be created. Other benefits gained from establishing such an office include increased efficiency, synergy among public interest programs, and increased awareness among the students of these programs. Other schools, recognizing these benefits, have already launched successful public interest offices.

B. The Current Need

The public interest community at Georgetown is extremely diffuse. Every public interest program or service offered by Georgetown is housed and coordinated by a different entity:

This high degree of decentralization has had several negative impacts on public interest at Georgetown.

First, it is more difficult for students to obtain information and enjoy the benefits of these various programs. A student who wants to learn about all of these programs currently must go to seven different offices. Most students do not have the time necessary to maneuver this maze. Furthermore, no central point of reference exists where a student can find out what programs exist and where to get more information about them.

Second, there is little collaboration between these organizations, which weakens the contribution each makes to the public interest community. Decentralization and lack of information often lead these like-minded groups to compete with one another; all too frequently, these organizations have held conflicting events for the same constituency.

Third, this decentralization has inhibited the creation of a strong public interest community at Georgetown. Due to the lack of a focal point, students do not even know that they are part of a community. At a school as large as Georgetown, public interest-oriented students may never get to know one another, and may not feel supported in their efforts or decisions. Because the dominant culture is the private law firm, unless committed students are anchored to a strong community, they will get swept into the funnel.

C. Efforts at Other Institutions

Responding to similar needs at their institutions, a number of Georgetown's peer schools have recently established administrative offices to coordinate their numerous public interest activities:

Columbia

Columbia's Public Interest Program was created to raise the visibility of Columbia's institutional commitment to careers other than corporate law. The Program administers the school's pro bono graduation requirement, organizes public interest panels and lectures, and provides counseling.

Fordham

Fordham established the Public Interest Resource Center in 1992 to serve as a clearinghouse for all public interest programs and organizations, and to provide a focal point for public interest activities. A major function of the center is providing space for three student organizations. The Center is staffed by two full-time professionals. Fordham's Dean plans to add two more full-time staff members in the near future.

NYU

The Public Interest Law Center (PILC) was established at NYU in 1992 to integrate a number of programs, which were previously operated separately, into a single, focused effort. By providing a focal point for public service, the presence of PILC offers to every NYU student the opportunity to use his or her degree to better society. Public interest programs which are part of PILC include post-graduate fellowships, public interest advising, summer internship funding, and volunteer placement. The Center sponsors a weekly seminar series on public interest law. PILC has a staff of five full-time employees, three of whom are lawyers with public interest backgrounds.

D. Recommendations

We recommend that the Law Center create an Office of Public Interest Programs (OPIP) to coordinate Georgetown's existing and prospective public interest and public service programs. The Office should:

The benefits Georgetown will gain from the creation of this office are immense:

First, this is a low-cost effort, in comparison to the significant strength it will lend to Georgetown's public interest community. Since OPIP will simply be relocating existing services, not expanding them, its cost will be minimal. In fact, increased cooperation and the avoidance of duplicated services may actually save money.

Second, this office will enable students to more effectively utilize existing public interest resources. The ability to learn about all the various programs in one location will increase student participation.

Third, Georgetown will benefit from improved communication and cooperation among public interest groups. Duplication in services will be avoided, and more diverse, exciting events can be planned by the cooperative efforts of several groups which share similar goals.

Fourth, an OPIP will enhance the visibility of all public interest programs. By housing them in one location, OPIP will combat the existing lack of information and awareness among students.

Fifth, OPIP will play an important role in creating a strong public interest community. By creating a locus for those interested in public interest, it will begin to create an identifiable public interest community. People can identify with others who are pursuing the same goals.

Finally, a central Office of Public Interest Programming is a vital part of each of the other recommendations proposed in this report. Implementing each of them separately will revitalize public interest. However, unless the institution brings them together and provides a spotlight for them, students will continue to face the same decentralized maze they do now. Without a public interest center, students may not be aware of and benefit from these other changes.