NIU’s College of Law recently ranked in the top 10 on two of 11 ranking lists in the 2005 Princeton Review.

NIU ranked third on the “most diverse faculty” list and fourth on the “most welcoming of older students” list. LeRoy Pernell, dean and professor of the College of Law, said about 43 percent of the college’s faculty is composed of minorities and about 40 percent are women.

“We have faculty that bring a wide range of diverse experiences and backgrounds to teaching in the law school. In those regards, we are far ahead of most schools in the country,” he said.

Pernell said most students in the law school are not simply undergraduate students. Many students have been in the work force a number of years, have families or have held various positions before coming to NIU, he said.

“On average, our students are older than most students in law schools,” he said.

There are also a number of part-time students who are still actively engaged in working, Pernell said. These are the reasons NIU also ranked high for welcoming older students, he said.

“It is in my opinion that our amount of older students is largely an effort of faculty, staff and students that provides a strong sense of communication in the law school,” he said. “Both the staff and students include all students, regardless of age or experience.”

Daniel Contreras, a first-year law student, said any type of experience aids a law student.

“It’s definitely a plus. It creates more of a real learning environment,” he said.

Contreras said he chose NIU’s College of Law because it seemed like a way to further a quality education and was affordable.

This year is the 25th anniversary of the first graduating class of the College of Law, which NIU acquired from Lewis University in August 1979. The college has several organizations, such as the Student Bar Association, which is the student government of the law school.

The organization participates in activities to promote its own educational and social experience and plan events for the student body. It also provides resources for students, such as career opportunities.

There are also sponsored activities such as moot court. Moot courts are opportunities for law students to engage in writing briefs and oral arguments on a local, regional and national level against other schools.

These programs and organizations aide the college’s diversity, Pernell said.

“There’s a purpose of those rankings,” he said. “What it does for the law school is give the potential student an idea of what is best for them. Both the diversity of the faculty and the environment of the law school translate into higher quality of legal education.”