MAJ Retland briefs Southern University Army ROTC on the Educational Delay Program. (Photo courtesy of author)
News & Notes
Recruiting at Historically Black Colleges and Universities
A Field Screening Officer Perspective
By Major David L. Retland
[N]othing we do is more important than hiring and developing people. At the end of the day, you bet on people, not on strategies.1
The Army Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps
is in a war for talent; the future of the JAG Corps rests squarely in
our collective hands.2Recruiting, especially in today’s competitive and fast-paced environment, is about building relationships. Field screening officers (FSOs) play a vital role in identifying and recruiting high-quality applicants from diverse populations. In this article, I share my perspective and lessons learned from serving as an FSO, particularly at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs).
Serving as an FSO is a unique opportunity that should not be taken for granted. Having a role in shaping the future of the JAG Corps and serving as the Regiment’s gatekeepers and ambassadors is an honor.3 Every fall, each FSO travels to two to three American Bar Association (ABA) accredited law schools to conduct interviews. I have been grateful to serve as an FSO on multiple occasions. Each time, I had the privilege of interviewing students attending law school at an HBCU. Although I am certainly not an expert on all FSO matters related to HBCUs, my experiences have taught me that understanding the history of HBCUs and the student population’s unique concerns will lead to more effective engagements.
Historically Black Colleges and Universities Overview
An HBCU is defined as “any historically Black college or university that was established prior to 1964, whose principal mission was, and is, the education of Black Americans.”4 As of 2021, HBCUs produce nearly 20 percent of Black college graduates.5 There are currently six ABA accredited law schools at historically Black institutions: Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, Howard University, North Carolina Central University, Southern University, Texas Southern University, and the University of the District of Columbia.6
As stated in the White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity Through Historically Black Colleges and Universities, “HBCUs have a proud history and legacy of achievement. In the face of discrimination against Black Americans by many institutions of higher education, HBCUs created pathways to opportunity and educational excellence for Black students throughout our Nation.”7 It is important for FSOs assigned to HBCUs to understand this history and the schools’ missions, which often reflect institutional cultures that align with that of the JAG Corps.
MAJ Retland with his Air Force JAG counterpart after participating in a JAG Corps Q&A session during a visit with law students at Louisiana State University Law School. (Photo courtesy of author)
Build an Authentic Relationship with the Career Services Office
Establishing an authentic relationship with the career services staff is probably an FSO’s most important endeavor, regardless of whether the FSO is assigned to an HBCU. Ideally, this relationship outlasts the FSO’s detail to a particular law school, with the goal that the career services office becomes a continual advocate for the Army JAG Corps. For example, FSOs should contact a school’s prior FSO and request the FSO do a “warm handoff” with the career services staff to ensure continuity in messaging and reinforce the JAG Corps’s commitment to developing relationships and recruiting quality people.
The career services office has a strong interest in creating pathways to student and graduate success.8 Your first interaction with the career services office sets the tone for not only how they view you as an individual, but also how they view the JAG Corps. As an FSO, you can build a relationship with the career services office by being authentic and sincere in your advocacy for the JAG Corps. When an FSO genuinely cares about people and the future of the Corps, it is evident. Your first interaction with the career services office should be either a phone call, or, if possible, an in-person meeting. During the initial interaction, you should request to schedule a meeting with the office director and share the Army JAG Corps’s core values and the unique opportunities the Corps affords judge advocates.
As mentioned above, HBCUs have a unique history, which is often reflected in their mission. While HBCUs are not all the same, the mission of educating minority students and serving underrepresented communities is a common theme. In fact, most HBCU law schools include public service and representation of underserved communities in their mission statements.
For example, North Carolina Central University School of Law, an HBCU, was founded in 1939 to provide opportunities for Black students to become lawyers.9 The law school’s mission is to provide “quality, personalized, practice-oriented, and affordable legal education to historically underrepresented students from diverse backgrounds to increase diversity in the legal profession.”10 Howard University Law School introduces its mission by stating that it is “[c]onsistent with providing the professional leadership necessary to advocate and defend the rights of all, but particularly of African-Americans and other minorities.”11 It is important an FSO not only be aware of the law school’s mission but also understand how it nests with the JAG Corps’s values.
An FSO must be prepared to discuss the JAG Corps’s initiatives on wellness, mentorship, leader development, and diversity. This includes the JAG Corps Council on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.12 The Judge Advocate General’s Policy Memorandum 22-11 states, “We strive to attract, recruit, develop, and retain a high quality and diverse team of legal professionals who reflect our Nation and enable those seeking to serve to see themselves in our Corps.”13
Understanding this policy and clearly articulating it highlights the JAG
Corps’s sincerity in recruiting and developing a diverse team of judge
advocates.
In addition to explaining the JAG Corps’s commitment to diversity, an
FSO should be prepared to communicate why they joined the JAG Corps and
to share some of their experiences prior to joining. Essentially, they
should explain how they, as individuals, are also committed to creating
a JAG Corps that reflects the Nation we serve. To the extent you can, be
transparent with the career services office. Once they understand you as
an individual and what you represent, it is much easier for them to
champion the JAG Corps to their students and graduates. They will be
motivated not only to inform students and graduates about the JAG Corps,
but they will continue to invite you, and by extension, the JAG Corps,
to recruiting events. If done well, the career services office can be
the Army JAG Corps’s greatest advocate, even after you are no longer the
FSO. Ultimately, strategic relationship building will pay huge dividends
for JAG Corps recruiting efforts.
Authentic and Sincere Engagement with Applicants
In my experience, expressing a genuine interest in an applicant is
crucial to an FSO’s success. To be effective as an FSO, you must
understand what motivates an applicant and anticipate any reservations
they may have about joining the JAG Corps. Students choose law schools
for a myriad of reasons. There is no one-size-fits-all; each person is
unique and has different professional and personal motivations. However,
for many students, cultural connectivity is a driving factor for
attending an HBCU.14 This is an important consideration when engaging with students at an HBCU, particularly minority applicants. In today’s globalized world, cultural connectivity and a sense of belonging is becoming an increasingly prevalent factor for people in choosing whether to join an organization. Identifying an organization where people feel a sense of community, and where they can be themselves is incredibly important. They do not want to be part of an organization where they feel isolated or forced to be some inauthentic version of themselves. The desire to belong is a key trend in the modern workplace.15
An example of this concern about belonging came a few years ago when I represented the JAG Corps at the Southern Region Black Law Students Association Job Fair. As I stood behind the table speaking with interested students, one student asked me a question I have never forgotten. He asked, “What is it like to be a Black man in the JAG Corps?” It was a question I should have anticipated. After all, at that point, I had been a Black man in the JAG Corps for approximately six years. Still, I had to stop and think for a second. It was a loaded question. I could have probably talked for hours on the subject. However, my short answer—for this article, and to him—was, “It is meaningful, and the contributions you make will be valued.”
This was my version of saying, “Our Army and our [Judge Advocate Legal Service] team are stronger because of our diversity, and we have a collective responsibility to ensure every member of our force has the opportunity to reach his or her potential.”16
Essentially, I communicated to him that what you bring to the table as a
Black male, as an attorney, and an individual with unique experiences
will be valued. Your work will not go unnoticed, and you will be a
valuable member of a community that is invested in your success and
committed to your personal and professional growth.
This gentleman did end up applying and was accepted into the Army JAG
Corps. Ever since he asked that question, I constantly think about a
potential applicant wanting to know the answer. It has motivated me
continually to volunteer for FSO opportunities and frequently
participate in outreach events, in part, so I can answer that question.
At the end of the day, an FSO’s efforts are not about the FSO; they are
about the future of the JAG Corps.
In summary, recruiting, especially in today’s legal market, must be
individualized and relationship-based. The world is changing. The
ability to connect and interact with people without leaving your office
is enticing. However, FSOs must be conscious, deliberate, and proactive
in recruiting diverse candidates. This starts with selling the JAG Corps
brand to career services offices through an understanding of HBCUs’
unique missions and how HBCU values nest with our own. And, hopefully,
it ends with understanding what motivates individuals and building
authentic relationships with them. Ultimately, the authentic
relationship is still the key to recruiting and the success of an FSO,
especially at HBCUs. TAL
MAJ Retland is an associate professor in the Administrative and Civil Law Department at The Judge Advocate General’s Legal Center and School in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Notes
1. Noel M. Tichy & Ram Charan, The CEO as Coach: An Interview with AlliedSignal’s Lawrence A.
Bossidy, Harv. Bus. Rev., Mar.-Apr. 1995, at 68, 76.
2. Stuart W. Risch et al., Everyone is a Recruiter! The Foundation Sends, vol. 41-22, 2023, https://www.jagcnet2.army.mil/FoundationSends41-22.
3. See Judge Advoc. Gen.’s Corps, U.S. Army, FSO Course: The Regiment’s Gatekeepers & Ambassadors, at slide 1 (June 18, 2019) (unpublished PowerPoint presentation) (on file with author).
4. 20 U.S.C. § 1061(2).
5. Exec. Order No. 14041, 86 Fed. Reg. 50443, 50443 (Sept. 3, 2021) (White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity Through Historically Black Colleges and Universities).
6. Discover These HBCU Law Schools Changing the World, Coll. Gazette (July 8, 2021), https://collegegazette.com/hbcu-law-schools.
7. Exec. Order 14041, supra note 5, at 50443.
8. See, e.g., Office of Career Services, Howard U. Sch. of L., http://law.howard.edu/career-services (last visited Feb. 16, 2023).
9. About the School of Law, NC Cent. U. Sch. of L., https://law.nccu.edu/about/nccu-school-of-law (last visited Feb. 27, 2023).
10. Id.
11. Our Mission, Howard U. Sch. of L., http://law.howard.edu/content/our-mission (last visited Feb. 27, 2023).
12. Memorandum from The Judge Advoc. Gen., U.S. Army, to Judge Advoc.
Legal Servs. Pers., subject: Establishment of the U.S. Army Judge
Advocate General’s Corps Council on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (17
July 2020).
13. Pol’y Memorandum 22-11, The Judge Advoc. Gen., U.S. Army, subject:
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility para. 1 (1 Mar. 2022)
[hereinafter Pol’y Memo 22-11].
14. See Erica L. Green, Why Students Are Choosing H.B.C.U.s: ‘4 Years Being Seen as Family,’ N.Y. Times (June 11, 2022), https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/11/us/hbcu-enrollment-black-students.html; see also Kassie Freeman & Gail E. Thomas, Black Colleges and College Choice: Characteristics of Students who
Choose HBCUs, 25 Rev. of Higher Educ. 349 (2002) (finding that one of the primary motivators for Black students’ choice to attend an HBCU is cultural connectivity).
15. Adi Gaskell, The Modern Employee Increasingly Wants to Belong, Forbes (Oct. 1, 2022), https://www.forbes.com/sites/adigaskell/2022/10/01/the-modern-employee-increasingly-wants-to-belong/?sh=338fd44312e5.
16. Pol’y Memo 22-11, supra note 13, para. 4.