The portraits lining the corridor at Boyd Law Building represent a long standing tradition dedicated to those who devote their lives to teaching law school. Faculty who have taught law for 25 or more years - 15 of those years being at Iowa - have the opportunity to have their portrait painted if they wish. Professor Sandler’s portrait will hang among many esteemed colleagues like Dean Adrien Wing and Professor Emeritus William Buss.

I wish to recognize the painful and unjust history of systemic racism in this country, predating even its founding and continuing through slavery to the present day. The killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and so many others have shed fresh light on a system that has long oppressed communities of color in America.

Black Lives Matter. We, the members of the University of Iowa College of Law Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee and the Black Law Students Association, write this statement in support of those directly and indirectly suffering from the consequences of racism and inequality.

With tax revenue crashing and expenditures soaring, states face severe financial problems. Illinois has already requested a federal bailout of its pension system, and last month Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell suggested that Congress should enact legislation allowing states to go bankrupt.