Noted UF Law School Alumnus To Head Statewide Committee To Help Recruit, Retain Minority Faculty

November 2, 2000

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Attorney W. George Allen of Fort Lauderdale has been named to head a statewide committee to assist in recruiting and retaining minority faculty for the University of Florida Fredric G. Levin College of Law.

The appointment of Allen, the first black to graduate from the UF law school, was announced today (11/2) by Jon Mills, interim dean. Formation of Allen’s committee is part of a diversity action plan formulated by Mills and the school’s faculty in response to issues raised in early September by the resignation of Professor Kenneth Nunn as associate dean for law center affairs.

“George Allen is a dynamic, far-sighted professional who understands the history, importance and legacy of this college,” Mills said. “He will do an excellent job addressing an issue of extreme importance not just to us, but to the entire system of higher education in this country.”

Allen was named in May as a Distinguished Alumnus of the university, in part for his leadership role in equal rights on the state and national level. He is a former president of the National Bar Association and the Broward County Bar Association.

Allen will recruit and organize other law school alumni, some of whom already have volunteered, to analyze the current working environment for minority faculty at the college. His committee also will develop a plan to assist in hiring and retaining minority professors.

“During the last 10 years, we have averaged a minority faculty of 11 percent each year, compared to the 1999 national average of 13 percent,” Mills said, “but we know we can do more, and will do so, with George’s help.”

Allen and his wife, Enid, are major contributors to the UF Center for the Study of Race and Race Relations at the College of Law, and he is a member of the UF Foundation Board of Directors. UF’s Black Law Student Association is named for him.