As he discusses experiences in his life that contributed to his success as a legal scholar and dean of the George Washington University Law School, Blake D. Morant doesn’t mention receiving awards and degrees, or even being appointed to two distinguished deanships. Instead, he immediately recalls his years as an Eagle Scout and his upbringing by a mother who encouraged him to develop all of his talents to take advantage of opportunities for advancement.
Scouting, he says, was part of the “holistic education” his mother believed in, and which he promotes in his writing as a solution to many of the problems facing society today. That, and his military service as a JAG officer at Ft. Bragg, enabled him to “learn from people who had different experiences and upbringing than I.”
Morant served as dean of the Wake Forest University School of Law for seven years before becoming dean of GW Law in 2014. Morant, whose full title is Dean and the Robert Kramer Research Professor of Law, is himself a symbol of leadership diversity as the first African-American to hold the position.
“Diversity has always been a linchpin in my career,” he tells Diverse. “It is one of the core values that’s a huge part of my career.”
In his “Message from the Dean” to prospective students on the GW Law website, Morant stresses the importance of inclusion to the institution. “Society’s continued globalization compels the quest for diversity, which to many constitutes the ‘Holy Grail’ of legal education,” Morant states in the message. “It goes hand-in-hand with quality legal education, and its achievement addresses the needs of an increasingly complex society.”
Morant has published scholarly literature in areas including contract theory, media law and administrative law. He also has served as president of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS).
He also writes for popular publications on subjects such as civil discourse, which, he suggests, is fading from today’s landscape of public debate. In a May 2018 article in The Atlantic, Morant recalled a panel discussion he participated in a month before the 2016 election when an audience member confronted him “loudly and angrily.” Discussing the incident with Diverse, Morant says that despite his efforts to engage the man in calm conversation, it was clear that the individual wasn’t interested in respectful discourse. Often, Morant says, the lack of civility results from “cathartic speech or venting.”
