Dr. Courtney A. Griffin

I am the Assistant Dean of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging at Detroit Mercy Law, where I have been for 4 years. Detroit Mercy is a Jesuit institution, and our values are strong and allow us to continue to do the DEIB work during these times, which is what I'm most proud of. Prior to this role, I was a learning designer at Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern, where I worked to create online courses with the faculty in executive education. I also taught research writing at DePaul University and served as the interim program director for the Arnold Mitchum Fellows Program, a fellowship for usually sophomores who were underrepresented students, including non-traditional students, students who were poor, students of color, and all of the above who were interested in graduate school. My job was to ensure that they had the research and writing skills and just the general life skills to prepare them for graduate school. One of my most notable achievements was in December 2023 when I created a parent's nook for parents who are also law students, with beanbag chairs and colored pencils and crayons, just a place for parents to be able to bring their students to campus. At the same time, I opened an inclusion lounge at Detroit Mercy Law, a space where students can have meetings, relax, with soft lighting. I wanted to be sure that it was a place where students could see themselves, so we have Hispanic artwork, photos of individuals who identify as LGBTQ, pride flags, and Black art, just as a place where students can really see themselves and get away from just the traditional all white men of law school or higher education in general.